Forgotten Words
by Marianne Bennet
Summary: After the day of Black Sun, Sokka decides to go on a mission to rescue Suki. However, Azula has her own ideas. Suki-Sokka, Zutara, one sided Ty Lokka.
1. Part 1, Shaken Faith

Forgotten Words Part 1, Shaken

by Elle Kitty

_"You talk too much ."_

"Stupid," Sokka said darkly. "What was I thinking?" He tossed his boomerang out into the darkness that loomed just outside of the small encampment in the Western Air Temple. Behind him, Katara handed out bowls of rice. The rest of their small group huddled around her, taking the food. All except for Sokka. "Here, Sokka," said Toph. "Come get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," replied Sokka, catching his boomerang as it came whirling back to him. He could still almost feel her hand on his shoulders. Before Suki left, she had kissed him as if she adored him; she had kissed him as if it were a love that could outlast the war. He remembered the way he had last seen her, waving and smiling sadly as if she somehow knew that they might not see each other again for a very long time. As if she knew that either of them might be dead by the time they say each other again, as they parted ways. And then he thought of her as she must be now, alone in a cell, a Fire Nation prisoner if not dead.

"But Sokka," said Aang, glancing up from where he sat beside Katara, "you're always hungry."

"Well, maybe I don't _feel_ like eating right now," Sokka retorted. "I want to do something for the war. I want to fight. I want to get something done!"

"Sokka," said Katara, "the most we can do right now is help Aang learn to Firebend. It's not like there's anything else."

Sokka looked down at his boomerang. "Maybe you're right. Or maybe there's a whole lot of people locked up in prison because of us! Because of me! My dad is among them and we sit here and do nothing to help them escape!"

"Sokka," said Haru, "I know how you're feeling. My dad is there too. Imprisoned yet again. And so is Teo's. And your dad is Katara's dad too. We all have friends and family in prison. We all feel they way you feel right now."

Katara sighed. "I know this is hard for you, but it's our only option. Now that the invasion has- failed... well, it's like you said. We have to stick to the old plan."

Aang nodded. "We have to wait here for a while. Zuko can teach me Firebending, and you guys can come up with a new plan."

"He's got a point," Toph agreed. "When Aang has Firebending down, we need to have a plan set up already. And it can't be a plan that's thrown together in a day or so. No offense Sokka, since that's what your plans usually are. We need allies."

"And how are we going to get allies?" muttered Sokka. "All of ours were captured."

"It's not like we need another huge army," replied Toph. "Too many would be a bad thing. We just would need to get in, take out the Fire Lord, and Azula."

"So, you're saying," mused Katara, "we need a few choice people to help us."

"I think we're okay be ourselves," interrupted Aang. "We've always worked with just us, and now that we have Zuko, and Teo, the Duke and Haru, I think we'll be fine."

Katara sniffed. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but I don't think that Zuko is so reliable."

"Are we going back to your trust issues with Zuko?" questioned Toph.

"No," protested Katara, her face reddening.

Toph ignored her. "I think the point Aang's trying to make is that Zuko, besides being a good fighter, probably knows ways into the palace that we wouldn't," she continued. "It might be useful to talk to him."

"But Toph," said Katara, "he burned your feet!"

Toph shrugged, obviously unimpressed with Katara's arguments. "I think that was an accident. For all he knew, I could have been Azula. I wouldn't mind burning her feet."

Sokka turned away. "All I want is to defeat the Fire Lord," he said. "I don't care how."

The others averted their eyes. Then Katara spoke up. "We only have a few days until the comet."

"We know that, Katara," said Sokka. He turned and walked up a staircase. "Who would know that better than us?"

* * *

.:Fire Nation Royal Prison:.

Azula paced around the room, red lips pursed in frustration. On the other side of the bars of the prison, sat Suki. It had been months since her capture in the Earth Kingdom, and something about her had changed. It wasn't Suki's appearance, no, if anything, that had remained a constant. She wore the same red sackcloth tunic and pants, and although her hair was longer than when Azula had first met this warrior, the exterior had not changed at all. Suki had fallen into depression for a time, but today she looked fierce and animated, ready for battle. Azula smirked. This would be fun.

"Did you have a pleasant night?" taunted Azula. "Or was it another filled with nightmares?"

Suki's blue-gray eyes flickered. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep, and apparently, the guards had reported it. Like they must have reported all of her other behavior too. But she didn't say anything, letting only the smallest of smiles creep onto her face.

Vexed, Azula turned away for a moment. "I suppose that today's little show of defiance is a result of that futile attack last week. I'm surprised you'd even have heard about it, kept in this dungeon for months."

"What attack?" asked Suki abruptly. Of course she had heard of the invasion, but maybe this way, Azula might admit something.

Azula was an accomplished liar, and that skill caused her to be able to detect any amateur. But she gloated at this chance to retell events. Any news that Suki might have heard would have been the vaguest of details. "What attack?" mimicked Azula. "Why, the attack made by your friends and their allies. It's the reason why I haven't been able to visit you lately."

Suki remained silent. Azula imagined that she was dying for information about Sokka, but decided to withhold that information for a while longer. "I suppose you're wondering about the outcome. Well, the-"

"Yes, I wonder about the outcome," said Suki. "For there is no way I could understand why you're still standing here in front of me if they won."

Azula sniffed. "Well, they lost. Miserably," she smiled maliciously. "They failed. And my worthless brother Zuko has disappeared. You remember Mai, don't you? Tall, dark haired, she helped me attack you and your warriors." Azula paused and Suki wondered about the relevance of this point. "I'm sure that she'd like to know the whereabouts of her boyfriend."

_Ah, _thought Suki. _That's what she's after. _But Suki wasn't going to give it to her.

Azula continued. "I know that Zuko visited his uncle in the cell right next door to you. I was wondering if you might tell me what they spoke of. It would be in your best interests of course."

The princess waited for a reply. She didn't get one. The young warrior turned her face to the wall with an air of waiting for Azula to leave. Frustrated, Azula tried a different tactic. She wanted to be the one to catch both her brother and her uncle. "I didn't mention your Sokka, did I?" she asked idly.

At once, Suki whirled around, blue eyes fiery. "Where is he? Have you seen him? Did he come here?" she demanded, now standing.

Azula's amber eyes gleamed. "Oh, I don't think I can remember. So many things happened that day."

Suki folded her arms. "Well, I'm not sure that I can quite recall what Zuko and Iroh were talking about," she retorted.

Azula yawned. "Well, _I'm _not interested in talking about your boyfriend if you won't talk to me about my brother. You don't come out very well out of this, do you?" She smirked. "I won't deny it; I actually admire you. In a way that is. So perhaps we can make a deal. You tell me what my uncle and Zuko spoke of and what they might have been planning, and I might tell you about Sokka. I might even improve your living conditions. So what shall it be?"

Suki looked at her hands. She dearly wanted to find Sokka and Azula's information might prove to be the first step . And she needed to get out of here. But what if Zuko and Iroh's secret conversations were important? What if she was being selfish by even thinking about telling Azula? But still, she needed to get away.

"Alright," said Suki. "Tell me what you want to know."

* * *

.:The Western Air Temple:.

Early in the morning, Zuko practiced Firebending alone in a forgotten courtyard, without Aang or anyone else. He felt that it was the only place where he could be alone. Or so he thought.

Katara often observed him, always from a window, hidden by trailing vines. She was still furious at him, for making her trust him for a moment, just one moment, before attacking Katara and Aang with Azula at his side. And she couldn't believe that he could switch sides, just like that. And she meant what she had told him before. _You make one mistake, you give me any reason to make me think that you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll end it. _

But it had already been almost two weeks and there seemed to be nothing new that she could hold against him.

He had seemed happier in the last few days, and seeing him as something different than the menace she had always perceived him as had twisted Katara's feelings for him. She hated him, but at the same time she couldn't. _He's too much like Aang, _Katara decided,_ at least for my taste. Sometimes he seems like a confused and lost person in this world, just like Aang. Only Aang has us and he has no one. _But she didn't want to think of Zuko has an actual person yet.

She heard a familiar pattering of footsteps on the stairs, and turned to face her brother Sokka. He at first scowled at her, asking, "Are you spying on Zuko again?"

Flustered, Katara tried to protest her innocence, but Sokka only held up a hand. "Toph told me you might be up here."

"How did she know?"

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "His feet are healing, you know" he reminded her.

Katara sighed. "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Zuko. I figured that if I could find you, I could find him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious you've been spying on him, so-"

"No." Katara's eyes narrowed. "Why are you looking for Zuko?"

"I want to talk to him. But what about you? I know that you're obsessed with him, but shouldn't you be with Aang?" Sokka smirked. "I saw you guys kiss."

Remembering the vent, Katara blushed. "With me and Aang, it's complicated. Besides, it's nothing worse than what you and Yue did. Or you and Suki." It was precisely the wrong note to hit. Sokka's face went a little gray, and he clenched his fists. Seeing this, Katara stopped smiling. "Oh no," she said, reaching out to him. "Something happened. What happened?"

"No!" replied Sokka defensively. "Nothing has happened. I just need to talk to Zuko. You just- you just leave me alone." Sokka hurried back down the stairs.

As soon as she knew he was gone, Katara turned back to the window in time to watch Zuko rest on a slab of granite. His dark hair hung over his face, over his scar and for a second, Katara could believe him to be a different person. Katara leaned over the windowsill and marveled at how one feature could change someone so dramatically. At once, his eyes shot up towards the window and instinctively, Katara threw herself back, daring to hope that he had not seen her studying him so eagerly.

When she stepped back to the window, Zuko was gone.

.:Later that night:.

It was night. Zuko was on the roof when Sokka found him. "Look, I'm sorry about what I've said before," said Sokka abruptly. "It's just that you've been the enemy for so long, and after you burned Toph's feet... well, I care about her. And I don't want her hurt."

Zuko nodded. "I see." They sat in silence for a moment until Zuko asked, "Are you and she... you know?"

"Oh, no!" Sokka exclaimed, jumping about a foot off the floor. "No, she's just like a sister to me."

"Your sister Katara doesn't trust me," said Zuko.

Sokka carefully chose his words. "Katara can't get past some things. But that's not what I came here to talk to you about." He took a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about something else. Something having to do with your sister. That is, my friend, Suki."

Considering this, Zuko asked, "Should I know her?"

Sokka smiled grimly. "I doubt it. But you attacked her home. You wouldn't have heard of her. But she's important to me and I have to find her."

"I'm sorry. Very sorry. For not just that, but everything. I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, things that I'd like to take back. I was a different person then," he said, smiling because the words reminded him both of Iroh and Jet. "But what does Azula, of all people, have to do with this?"

"Because," explained Sokka, shoulders sinking, "she's your sister's prisoner."

Dead silence fell on the discussion as Zuko contemplated his options, looking for the best way to say what was on his mind. Deciding that putting it bluntly was the most merciful choice, he answered, "She's dead."

Sokka stood up. "No, she's not!" he objected fiercely. "She can't be! Azula, of all people, told me herself! Back on the day of the invasion!"

Zuko looked to his past. "Azula lies. She lies easily and cruelly. She'd never tell the truth unless it served her own purposes."

"But this did serve her purpose! She used Suki to get at me, and to stall me,Toph and Aang from getting to your father's throne room. She has Suki prisoner. I don't know where. I was hoping you could tell me that."

"As for getting into the throne room, I was already in there and I wasn't prepared to deal with interruptions. As for your friend, I guess that Azula might tell the truth in that case, but you can never be sure. But you'd better hope she's dead. The happier of Azula's prisoners are like that. And if your friend is alive, you wouldn't want to see her. I don't think she'd be even be able to fight."

"This isn't about raising an army to fight the Fire Nation! This is about saving a friend. And not just a friend, but my-" At a loss for thinking of a word to describe Suki as, Sokka laughed bitterly. "The funny thing is, I'm not even sure what to call Suki," he admitted. "I care about her so much, but we had so little time together to really figure out what we meant to each other." He sat down. "I don't want to see her hurt."

"What do you mean? I'm sure that she's gotten beaten up many times in her career as a warrior. Especially as Azula's prisoner."

"But that wasn't my fault! Not directly, I mean. Except that we, as in me, Katara, and Aang, sort of dragged her into this war. So I guess it is my fault after all. It's all my fault."

"No one should be blamed for every mistake they've ever made. I don't think she'd even blame you," said Zuko, thinking about how much he wanted to be forgiven.

"It's not just Suki. Back at the North Pole, I had a sort-of girlfriend, Yue."

"What's a 'sort-of' girlfriend?"

"Well, technically, she was engaged to be married. But the guy was a jerk, and I think Zhao killed him anyway. But that's not the point! I was supposed to protect her, assigned to her by her father, but I couldn't save her. She died." He looked up at the moon. "And I've sworn to myself that I won't let Suki die. So it's my honor I guess."

Zuko looked away, thinking of his own honor. "Azula could be keeping her a hundred different places. The only way to know where she's being kept would be to ask Azula herself. And that's never going to happen."

"But what if she's tricked into telling?" Sokka persisted. "Or kidnapped?"

Zuko let out a bark of laughter. "Kidnap Azula? I think this girl's made you go off the deep end."

Sokka looked back up at the moon. "I still have to find her," he said. "It's not like anything is ever going to change that. You wouldn't understand."

"I know what you feel like. When I left to join you, I left someone behind too. I don't know where your Suki is, but I understand why you need to find her. And I'll help."

* * *

.:Fire Nation Palace, Guest Quarters:.

Suki ran a brush through her hair for what felt like the thousandth time. No longer locked in a cell, she reveled in the luxury she now possessed. Azula had been as good as her word and within a day, Suki had been moved into a comfortable room in the very palace itself. But, despite all of this generosity, Azula had yet to relinquish any information concerning Sokka. Suki tried to bring the memory of him to the front of her mind, but panicked when she realized that she could not recall what her looked like. The thoughts of her good fortune took his place immediately. But despite all of this show of generosity and unexpected kindness, Suki still felt caged.

Only this time, her bars were gilded.

She still wore her prison clothes. As silly as that seemed, Suki wouldn't wear the robe that had been left for her use. It was Fire Nation clothing and Suki couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand a lot of this room. The scarlet hangings, crimson sheets, gold tinted furniture, it was hard not to feel a prisoner in this room. Because under all the comforts, a nagging feeling prevailed, a feeling that she had somehow betrayed all of them. It was a horrible feeling.

A bath and a night's rest had done a lot for Suki, and now that her face was clear of grime, her hair hung past her shoulders untangled, she was ready to make her demands. Her demands of an explanation from Azula. Because Azula wasn't keeping her end of the deal. And this time, Azula would not emerge victorious. But Suki couldn't tell when Azula might come. All Suki knew is that she _would _come and Suki refused to be caught unaware.

So she waited. She waited for an hour, then two, and only then did Azula make her appearance.

Leaping to her feet as Azula entered, Suki asked curtly, "I believe that you owe me an explanation."

In a slightly bored tone, Azula merely said, "I believe that it's time we tied up some loose ends." No formalities, no other greeting. It suited Suki's purpose.

"Are you here to fulfill your end of the deal?" interposed Suki, her blue eyes snapping.

Azula shrugged. "Haven't I? You've been moved out of your cell, into a room in the very palace, and," a half-hidden smile crossed her face, "I can make sure that you have no troubles here."

Suki folded her arms. "I think you were supposed to tell me about Sokka."

Azula waved her hand. "All in good time," she said, but she sounded distracted.

"Azula," said Suki, "I need to know where he is."

"Oh, I'll tell you. But first, I'd like you to meet someone." The princess smiled as two men in darkest green entered the room. "I don't believe you've met the Dai Li, have you? They are excellent fighters, but their agents have... other uses as well."

The warrior shook her head. "Tell me, what's the point of this?" she asked, glaring at the princess. "This is between you and me. There's no reason to drag anyone else into this."

Azula didn't reply to this. She only sighed. "I don't think that Dad will even notice that I have a new friend in the palace," she said as the Dai Li moved stealthily around the room. "You'll be the equivalent of Ty Lee or Mai. You'll be at my side, the way they are." Azula paused. "Won't that be amusing? A Kyoshi Warrior, at my beck-and-call. And the girlfriend of one of the Avatar's protectors at that."

"And why would you even think," objected Suki, "that I would ever, ever, help you?" She kept her eyes on the Dai Li, who were advancing towards her.

"I don't," replied Azula silkily. "But you won't remember being my enemy. You won't remember anything except what I tell you."

"Well, I'm not about to lose my memory any time soon."

The two Earthbenders pounced, but Suki was ready. Darting to the side and leaping over the bed kept her just out of reach. She glanced around as the Dai Li began moving towards her again. As she sprinted for the unlocked door, sprinted to get out of this prison, Azula stepped into the way, smiling sardonically, and fired a large blast of blue fire straight at her. In order to avoid it, Suki dropped to the floor and, even as she struggled to get up, the Dai Li seized her, pulling her out into the stone hallway. They threw her against the wall and as she collapsed against it, earthbended the rock around her. Suki stared straight forward, unable to do anything else.

One bender withdrew a small glowing crystal from the folds of his sleeves as the other took a place directly in front of Suki. At first she resisted, fighting her bonds, but Azula had followed her agents out into the hallway and stood to the side of the young warrior.

"I suppose I could tell you about your Water Tribe boyfriend now," said Azula, sounding bored.

Suki stopped resisting and she looked at Azula with surprise. "What do you mean?" she snapped. "What are you trying to do?"

Azula smiled her most malicious smile. "Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't. But it doesn't matter anyways. Because you won't remember any of this."

"What are you talking about? I'll never forget about any of this! Sokka will come for me, you'll see!"

The princess stopped smiling. "Don't tell me that you are still, after all of this, holding on to that foolish little hope. Poor, poor little Suki. You think he'll come and rescue you, save you, but you and I both know different. Because, although you might not know this, he was already here and I know that he didn't even look for you."

"You don't know that," protested Suki, trying to shake her head, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can't know that!"

"Poor little Suki," Azula repeated. "I do know it. You know, this is one of the times when I don't need to lie. Because this time, the truth is all I need. Because your precious Sokka told me himself." When Suki's eyes widened, she continued. "I couldn't have done him a bigger favor. I happened to run into him during the invasion, and I told him about you, that you were my prisoner and that all he had to do was look to find you. Don't you think he should have been coming to your aid at run? Like you said he would?"

"You're lying. As usual."

Ignoring her, Azula continued her tale. "If he's all that you say he is, shouldn't he have been here by now? Shouldn't he have rescued you earlier? But you and I both know that he didn't. Obviously, he doesn't care about you at all."

"You're lying," said Suki, sniffing slightly. "I'll bet you never even saw him!"

"But I did."

"Prove it!" spat out Suki.

With another smile, Azula withdrew a fan from the folds of her robe, a war fan. One from Kyoshi. And as Suki recognized that it was one of a set she had given Sokka, she bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood. She ceased her struggles and instead stared blankly at the light that had begun to circle around the Dai Li agent as he whispered lies to her. And she gave up, even as the tears poured down her face.

* * *

A/N: Whew! That's the end of Part One of Three. I have seen the new Avatar episodes and I know that this is not what happens, as I began this in February 2008, Part Two in March, and Part Three is still in progress. I always thought that this might be an interesting plot for a Suki-Sokka ship, so I decided to write this fanfic. Look out for a bit of a Katara-Zuko thing going on in Parts Two and Three! -EK


	2. Part 2, Underwater

**Forgotten Words Part Two, Underwater**

by Elle Kitty

_"I lost someone that I cared about. He didn't die, he just went away. I only had a few days to get to know him, but he was smart, and brave, and funny."_

Suki couldn't remember any of this. She stood next to Azula, dressed in a cropped top and short skirt of amber silk and she couldn't remember Sokka at all. She knew, somehow, that there had been someone, someone important that she felt that she needed to find,but she simply couldn't remember who. And she detested the fact that she could not remember something so crucial.

"Suki!" Azula snapped as she stood on the boat, arms folded, dressed in her usual combination of armor and silk. "Haven't I told you to get on the boat?"

Suki blinked once, then twice, and stepped on board, thrown out of her thoughts. A servant took her bags and Azula scowled and turned to complain to Mai about one thing or another. Ty Lee, also dressed in her usual, spitefully poked Suki in the ribs and the former Kyoshi Warrior swatted Ty Lee's hand away. "What's your problem?" Ty Lee asked obnoxiously, flipping her long braid over one shoulder.

"Oh, nothing, I just don't like being jabbed like that!" said Suki crossly, rubbing her bruised side. Ty Lee hadn't been the cause of those bruises, at least to Suki's knowledge, but Suki couldn't recall how those bruises got there. She sighed. She was having a terrible time of remembering things lately. Leaning against the rail, she thought of how ridiculous this trip was. Why shouldn't Azula, being the only remaining heir to the throne, be at her father's side as he set affairs in the capital to rights? Why shouldn't she be learning the things she would need to be a leader? Azula had natural talent, there was no doubt of that, but she needed, in Suki's opinion, to learn benevolence. And mercy. The Fire Lord couldn't always rule with an iron fist, could he? But instead, Mai and Azula had been sent by their respective families to Ember Island, and Suki and Ty Lee by their lack of a family. Many of the nobles in the Fire Lord's court were doing the same. Suki didn't like it, and it showed in her demeanor. She tugged at her pendant (a gift from Azula), ran her hands against the ebony wood of her fan (another gift from Azula), and thought about Azula's plans on Ember Island. Azula was throwing a party.

_It's so silly,_ thought Suki irritably. _Shouldn't we be doing something to help the war instead of socializing?_ But Suki had not been consulted in this manner. To Azula, Suki was like a little lapdog, there to amuse the princess when she was bored, but could be easily sent away if annoyance occurred. Useless. But Suki didn't want to be useless. She wanted to fight, to get something accomplished. She tugged at a wisp of red-brown hair that fell past her chin, then stole a glance to see if Azula noticed her discomfort. She had. Azula noticed everything.

Ignoring Azula's piercing golden glare, Suki closed her eyes and turned her face to the breeze, trying desperately to remember. She recalled the image of a face to the front of her mind, a face unfamiliar and yet dear all at the same time. She focused on the face, trying to make out the features, but it was too blurry. She panicked, losing her memory and nearly weeping for she had forgotten him altogether and still couldn't remember.

"You're thinking too hard." Suki's eyes flew open to look at Azula's smug face. The princess lounged against the railing, her brown-black hair loose in the wind. She smirked.

"I was not thinking to hard," Suki objected. "I was hardly thinking at all. I was _trying _to relax."

"Well don't try so hard. We'll have plenty of time to relax on Ember Island. But right now," Azula stated, "we need to discuss your background."

"My what-"

"Well, you see, Dad would never accept a stranger into my entourage. He's gotten so picky, so paranoid since Zu-Zu betrayed him. He used to have nothing to do with my household, but now I suppose he wants to be the 'family man'." She paused, obviously disdainful of her father's interest in her affairs. "Well, anyway, do even know where your family might be?"

Suki sighed. "I've told you before, I don't remember any of it, only that I was born on an island. That's all."

"Oh, good. You're probably just some peasant from one of those backwater colonies. No matter. We'll just have to try another revenue. Anything about your home?" Azula already had her own plans, but this was her way of making sure that Suki had no idea of her past.

Suki thought long and hard. "An island. It was cold, and it snowed a lot. Probably to the north or south."

Azula sighed. "Look, just forget all of that and listen to what I tell you," she said, meaning every word. "I'm making this up as I go along and you've got to help me. So add details where you see fit. You are the third daughter of a nobleman from the colonies, the most distant colony of the three. Your grandfather was exiled by my grandfather because he..."

But Suki wasn't listening. She hardly cared about Azula's schemes, or ploys, or even her recreation. The idea of being sent away wasn't even that frightening to her. So, very quietly, Suki turned her head away and looked out to sea. Ember Island was hardly close, and a storm was on its way. Despite her original thoughts, she could hardly wait to get to the island. Maybe she would have some time to herself there. It seemed that Suki was very lacking in that.

"Suki? Are you paying attention?" Azula scowled. "Your future is at stake and you-"

"What?" snapped Suki, surprising herself as well as Azula. "I can't think about anything now?" She walked away without a backward glance.

Ty Lee and Mai joined Azula. "How dare she?" muttered the princess.

"Ugh, why didn't you just leave her in the cell?" grumbled Mai. "Or at least tell her who she is so we can put her back there."

"Well, I think beating her once was enough," objected Ty Lee.

"And besides," remarked Azula, "she has other uses."

"Such as?" Mai slightly sneered.

"For one, she's the girlfriend of one of the Avatar's friends."

Ty Lee looked disappointed. "You mean that Water Tribe boy," she pouted. "I thought he was cute."

"Ugh, I don't," said Mai. "Besides, when are we going to go after the Avatar again?"

"What she really means," added Ty Lee confidently, "is when are we going to go after your brother agian?"

Mai was silent. Azula could imagine what she was thinking. It was obvious that Mai missed Zuko. But she didn't want Mai's affections to contend with her plans. Best to play the loving friend for now. "We can't do anything yet," comforted Azula. "But after Dad brings us back, we'll find Zu-zu." Even though Azula had somewhat offered to leave the capital, she resented it.

"I can't believe we had to come back to Ember Island. One time was enough. They act like we can't take care of ourselves," muttered Mai. "We all know that you aren't really all that desperate to throw a party."

"Maybe not, but I'd like to invite those fools from last time and see what they have to say when they finally understand that I am their future ruler."

"Are you so sure about that, Azula?" teased Ty Lee. "Zuko, although not exactly on the best of terms with your dad, is still alive, and Iroh has plenty of supporters."

"Iroh," Azula scorned, "is a pathetic and miserable old man and a traitor. I'm shocked that he even mustered up the will to break out. All he wants to do is drink tea. Meanwhile, little Zu-zu won't dare to return and if he does, he won't make it past the gates alive."

Mai resumed her silence. "I'm not so sure that Dad will be so eager to keep little Zu-zu alive, now that he's a traitor," continued Azula, ignoring Mai's discomfort. "We hardly count him as family anymore."

Ty Lee however, did notice and chose to act. "Oh, be quiet Azula," she said, forcing a playful laugh. "Ozai wouldn't murder his own son." She tugged on Mai's sleeve. "Come on, let's find something to do." As the two walked away, Azula wondered how many friends she would lose in this whole mess.

* * *

.:Above the Western Air Temple:.

"So let me get this straight: We're going to fly into the Fire Nation, all alone, in a war balloon and hope not to die?"

Zuko looked up from his work. "I still don't understand what you don't get. When they see this insignia, they'll think that we're one of them. We fly in, get your girlfriend, fly out. What's not to get?"

"Only that the only way we're ever going to get Suki is by kidnapping Azula herself!" yelled Sokka. He and Zuko had been mighting to repair the war balloon several times over the last week and now that it was nearly fixed, they were deliberating the finer details of their plan as they worked.

Zuko nodded. "Now you're getting it."

"Are we really going to do this ourselves?"

"Your original plan was to go in alone. Why are you so worried now? Am I not enough?"

Sokka looked away. "I just didn't think I'd get this far," he admitted. "I thought it would fall out like all of my other plans. All of my other stupid plans."

"Your plans aren't stupid."

Sokka laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah? The Invasion was one of mine. It backfired didn't it?"

"You still got something out of it didn't you?"

"Oh, right. My dad and all of our allies imprisoned. Great outcome, isn't it?"

"You found out that your girlfriend isn't dead."

"Small comfort."

"Is it?"

The two looked at each other for a moment. Then Sokka said softly, "I guess that wasn't so bad. Azula still used it against me."

"Azula uses everything against everyone. Don't take it too personally."

"But we are going to tell someone right?"

Zuko smiled. "Of course we are. Aang for certain, Toph, the others, and ... Katara. They could come if they wanted to."

"I'm just worried that this is going to be a one way ticket."

"We'll need all the help we can get. What about Toph... and Katara?" Zuko's mouth twisted into a grim smile. "I don't think your sister will agree to come though."

Sokka looked away. "I don't think so. But we are going to tell them right?"

"Only when they won't be able to stop us."

"You think they'll try to stop us?"

There was silence for a moment. Then Zuko spoke, "What do you think?"

Sokka didn't answer. They worked for what seemed a long time until an all too familiar noise was heard. Sokka looked up. "Momo, get out of here!" The lemur did nothing of the sort. Instead, Sokka heard, "And what do you think you're doing, Boomerang Boy?"

Zuko's head snapped up. "You too Zuko. What's going on?" Katara and Toph entered the clearing.

"Nothing," said Zuko and Sokka simultaneously.

Toph smirked. "It doesn't look like nothing."

Katara glared at Zuko. "What are you two doing with that balloon? Where did you get the balloon anyways?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Because if this is what I think it is, Sokka, we can talk about it."

Zuko glanced up at Katara. "And what does it look like we're doing?" he inquired, smiling a little.

Katara scowled, but Toph spoke up first. "It sure looks like you're trying to run away from something. Or someone," she added, glancing at Katara and Zuko.

"Katara, it's complicated," said Sokka as he tugged on a few ropes dangling from the balloon's basket. "Why don't you just go stay with Aang?"

"If this is about rescuing Dad, you don't have to bring Aang into it," said Katara.

Sokka looked perplexed. "Why do you think this is about Dad?"

She folded her arms. "Well, it's a little obvious that we all feel guilty about leaving them behind, but-"

Zuko unsuccessfully smothered a laugh. Surprised to hear it, Katara turned to him. "What's so funny?" she demanded. "But then again, between the hunting and the betrayals, there was so little time for humor that I wasn't so sure if you could laugh!"

Ignoring the ill-tempered jab, Zuko said, "It's just that-"

"You have it all wrong Katara," said Sokka. "This isn't about Dad, and it's not about Mom, since that seems to be your other favorite subject. This is about me. Me and Suki."

"What are you talking about? Suki's fine, she's probably back on Kyoshi Island by now."

Toph took a deep breath, suddenly understanding. "You weren't with us on the Day of Black Sun. We ran into Azula and-"

"She was kind enough to tell me that Suki is her prisoner," Sokka finished bitterly.

Katara approached her brother. "Sokka, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know. You want to find Suki. But how is he going to help you? Why is he going to help you?" She indicated Zuko.

Without looking up, Zuko stated, "There have been people I've regretted leaving behind. In more ways than one. I want to help him so that he doesn't have those same regrets."

Katara looked away. She wasn't quite ready to forgive him. Toph, though, shrugged. "I owe Suki. I'll come along."

Zuko smiled. "Great. This has to be an inside job though. Not much brute force involved, hopefully."

"Why do you think that all I have is strength? Although I do have plenty of it, it's like those people who think that since I'm blind, all I can do is stand around and look adorable."

Sokka grinned at this prospect. "Great. And you, Katara?"

Katara glanced at Zuko. "I-I'll come, but this is for you, and no one else." What was left unsaid was that it would never be for Zuko.

"Let's tell Aang," said Toph, cheerful at the prospect of another mission. Although she and Sokka left the clearing, Zuko and Katara remained.

"You need something?" asked Zuko, preparing to leave.

"Not exactly," said Katara a little uncertainly. "What I mean to say is that just because-"

"-You have everyone else fooled doesn't mean you have me," finished Zuko. "You've already made it clear that you don't trust me."

"How can I?" Katara burst out. "You lied and betrayed me and I can never, ever forgive you! So stop trying to get me to! And I don't want to hear anything about your losing your mother. You probably lost her because she did something horrible. Mine was murdered!"

Zuko turned away, saying softly, "I'm not going to correct you, but my mother's story is different from what you think. I'm sorry for disappointing you in the past, but now it's my destiny to help you. So please, just give it a break!"

"No, I can't! You could turn on us at any moment, you could hurt us when we're not looking! I don't care about your destiny and the way I see it, you can't be trusted. I don't know what you've done to convince all the others that you've changed, but you'll never fool me!"

"I don't know how I'm ever going to convince you of this, but it's my destiny to help you people and you won't let me!" Zuko argued.

"And how do you know that's your ever elusive destiny?" Katara taunted.

"Iroh's explained it all to me."

"Ah, Iroh. When I last saw Iroh, you had just turned on him. Like you did everyone else. Zuko, he was like a father to you and you practically handed him over to Azula. If you can stomach that, what can I trust you not to do?"

"You think I don't feel guilty about Iroh?" Zuko shouted. "I've made mistakes, it's true, so why won't you let me make amends?"

"Because I trusted you!" Katara burst into tears. "I trusted you and you turned around and stabbed us in the back! You sent an assassin to kill us, and you expect me to suddenly turn around and believe you? I trusted you Zuko and you nearly got Aang killed!" She turned and ran from the clearing, leaving Zuko behind.

* * *

.:Royal Ferry, Suki's Cabin:.

Suki was tired. Alone in a small cabin she had to herself, a cabin furnished with the barest of comforts. A place where she could get away from Azula. She lay down on a small bed in the corner and tried her best to sleep.

Suki dreamed. She dreamed she stood in a massive hallway, the beams of the roof pressing down on her, even though they were so far up. She had a feeling of imprisonment, not caged, but in a position where she could not go forward or back. In front of her stood Azula, golden eyes glinting in the twilight. She beckoned Suki forward, but Suki wouldn't go. She didn't trust Azula.

Behind Suki was someone else. Someone Suki didn't know, or hadn't met yet. Someone that she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet. So, trapped in a kind of limbo, she sought another option. A hallway was to the left of her. She chose that.

Azula didn't follow. This surprised Suki, for she knew Azula to be the predator that always chases her prey. If Azula had given up now, it would only be to strike again later, with something more terrible and greater. But it seemed that even Azula was afraid of this unknown something that pursued Suki.

The other pursuer did not give up so easily. Suki knew that he chased her from room to room, never ceasing. She hardly looked at the surrounding area, rooms once celebrated and furnished, now blackened with charcoal smeared across the floor, damp with ragged curtains sagging in the windows, full of mildew and mold, releasing a pungent scent that mixed with the smell of fires long gone. Suki wasn't sure where she was.

She didn't turn to look at her pursuer either. If her surroundings were insignificant, than so was ther person that chased her. It was an enemy, or a fear. Did it matter? All that mattered was that she stay as far from it as possible. The only thing that ran through her mind was to keep running and never stop.

Eventually, she had to stop. A large, ominous red door was guarding her escape and although she pulled at its handles, although she hit it and begged someone to let her in, it stood in her path. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. She was tired of running.

She turned to face her enemy, ready for battle, ready for anything that was put up against her. She looked for a weapon of any type, something she could defend herself with, but all that was around was a simple fan. Curious as to why a fan would be here, of all places, she picked it up and nearly dropped it. It was heavier than it seemed. With a sigh, she opened it, marveling at the metal laced between the spine of the fan. She would have liked to look at it longer, to inspect it and see where it might have come from, but her pursuer was catching up to her.

She looked up at the approaching shadow, almost as if taken by surprise. When she had first ran down the hall, it had seemed as if many shapes had pursued her, ever changing, ever morphing into something new. But the shadows had taken form, creating something new, something she hadn't anticipated. It was a boy.

Not really a boy. Taller than she, well built and holding a sword in his steady grip, he had to have been as old as she. Perhaps older. Brown hair pulled back from his face, blue eyes fixed on her. It didn't matter how he looked. Enemies came in all shapes and forms and all she had to do was combat them. She settled into a battle stance, eyes, like any seasoned fighter, on her opponents. She viewed the sword warily. She needed to keep an eye on it.

But it fell. It fell and clattered onto the floor and Suki nearly dropped her weapon as well in surprise. He took one step forward, than two, and he walked to her as if in a dream of his own, his mouth whispering her name with... was that longing? Or regret? A thousand different emotions swam in that one word, emotions that Suki found she had no names for. But she did not know this person. "You must be mistaken," said Suki, trying to step away, "I'm not her."

A dawn of confusion fell over his face. He seemed to consider one option, then another, until he simply withdrew something from his pocket. Wordlessly, he handed it to her.

Suki didn't take it. Clattering to the floor beside his sword, she stared at it. A gold headpiece that was unfamiliar, but somewhat natural. Like the fan, she wanted to take it and examine it. "What is it?" she asked, now interested and somewhat amused.

"You are Suki," he replied. "And I'm looking for you."

Suki awoke with a start. She glanced around the room, registering her surroundings before rising. Haunted by her dreams, she walked as if in a daze to Azula's room, which was deserted. Hunting through the princess's bags, she found what she was looking for. And this time she knew what it meant

A gold headpiece lay in her hand, this one battered and scarred. And she knew it was her own, somehow, and more importantly, she knew this boy was looking for her.


	3. Part 3, Dreaming

**Forgotten Words Part Three, Dreaming**

_by Elle Kitty_

_"There's no time to say goodbye."_

_"What about 'I'm sorry'? I treated you like a girl when I should have __treated you like a warrior."_

_"I am a warrior. But I'm a girl too."_

"If you keep that up, you're going to roll out of the balloon," said Zuko, looking over at Sokka.

Sokka rubbed his eyes and glanced around, registering where he was. Katara and Toph were fast asleep in one corner of the balloon, obviously untroubled by bad dreams, and Zuko was staring. "I was... just having a bad dream."

Zuko nodded. "Believe me, I am no stranger to bad dreams," he said with a half smile. He had, obviously, not been asleep. Sokka got up and looked out at the misty night sky. "I didn't think I'd ever miss anyone so much," he said aloud, looking at the moon.

"Who? Your girlfriend? Suki?"

"No," said Sokka, "I mean, I do miss her. Desperately. But I wasn't exactly talking about her. I was talking about the moon. I mean, I know how stupid that sounds, but the moon was kinda my first girlfriend. Sort of a girlfriend that is."

"What do you mean?"

"She was- is Yue. I met her at the North Pole. We came from two very different places, I mean, come on, she was a princess. I was just a peasant. And she was engaged to be married. But, something happened and she- died. During the siege. She turned into the moon."

"I see. Was that my fault?"

"No... why do you even ask?"

"It seems that so many things turn out to be my fault. But I'm used to it."

"Well, actually, it was Zhao's. Not a nice guy. But you know that since, uh, right, you two hated each other's guts didn't you?"

Zuko nodded. "That's a good way of putting it."

"But you did escape while this was going on."

"Oh." They stood in silence for what seemed a long time, lost in their thoughts, until Zuko remarked, "She's never going to trust me, is she?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Katara."

Sokka looked back at his sister. "I dunno. I think you really hurt her. I think she really did trust you and then you kinda sorta betrayed her.

That's at least what I think."

"Why can't she believe me now? Haven't I proven myself?"

"Katara holds grudges. Don't take it too personally. She hates Ty Lee too."

"Hates? That's a strong word. She feels that strongly about me?"

"Don't let it go to your head. It might be a _strong_ emotion but it's usually not a _good_ one." Sokka grinned.

"Why would she hate Ty Lee? She might get a little obnoxious, but she's okay. She's pretty much the opposite of my sister. She just wants to be different."

"And Mai? That sullen, emotionless girl who also hangs out with Azula?"

Zuko stopped smiling. "She's not that sullen! And she does have emotions! And don't you say that she hates the world either!"

Sokka backed off. "Okay, okay, I get it. You must really, really like her. Don't you?"

A cold wind blew. Zuko looked away. "Yeah, I do."

"And you were talking about her, weren't you? Back in the clearing, I mean."

"In one way I guess. But I had to leave her behind. It wasn't a choice. But I was talking about... someone else."

"Who?"

Zuko looked down, regretting sharing so much information. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on, you can tell me. Geez, have a little faith! We're about to descend into peril, whose name is Azula, and you won't tell me who you're _crushing_ on?"

"Alright, fine!" Zuko said, color rising to his face at a steady rate. He figured that it didn't make much of a difference. "If it'll get you to shut up! It's your sister. Katara."

Sokka was silent. Zuko turned away and leaned against the engine. Unknown to them, someone had been listening.

Sokka looked out over the ocean. "Where are we going?"

Closing his eyes, Zuko said bluntly, "Ember Island. My father would have sent Azula there, possibly with Ty Lee and Mai, while he cleans up the invasion We'll find her there."

"How do you know that?"

Zuko tried to sleep. "He's done it before."

* * *

.:The Beach:.

The sun was bright overhead, a hot blazing beacon of light that bore down onto the beach, but no one (except Mai) seemed to mind the heat.

Suki loved it.

She couldn't get enough of it. She lay on the sand, basking in the warmth, ran into the waves, enjoying herself for the first time in what seemed a very long time. "You act as though you've never been in the ocean before," complained Mai, hiding under her umbrella.

But it was true that Suki hadn't. On Kyoshi Island, they knew better than to go and play in the waves, for fear of the Unagi. And the water was hardly ever anything but cold. So for Suki, this was bliss.

"Oh, be quiet Mai," said Azula moderately happy for the first time since leaving the capital. "It's nice to finally relax a little."

Ty Lee giggled. "Look world!" she called out teasingly. "Azula's finally relaxing! Unlike some people," she added, shooting Suki a glance. Suki had attracted her fair share of the boys on this beach, a sum Ty Lee had yet to achieve.

"Stop acting so jealous," commanded Azula. "The more attention we attract, the more people will come to my party."

"Or crash it," muttered Mai.

"I don't mind if people crash it. Really, I don't. It's just going to be on the beach, right in front of our old house here. I don't care who crashes." She laughed. "I want to show those fools from last time who's boss."

Ty Lee sighed. "Okay Azula, you do that. Just don't scare them all off like last time."

"I did not scare them all off!" objected Azula peevishly. "It was- we just had- a misunderstanding."

"And they were jerks anyway," muttered Mai, reading under her pocket of shade. Her hands trembling as she read the words over and over again, she resisted tearing the bit of sorry paper up. She'd already memorized every word and understood what Zuko's note meant: it was a rejection of her. Mai blinked back tears.

Noticing this, Azula asked, "What are you reading?" She reached out to take it, but Ty Lee was faster.

"What's this?" said Ty Lee, cocking her head sideways as she read. But as Mai reddened, Ty Lee's usual smiling expression changed to one of pity, confusion, and guilt. With an air of embarrassment, she handed the note back to Mai.

Pale face flaming with a mixture of worry, suspicion and embarrassment, Mai snatched the crumpled letter away, her thoughts in a confused debate between tearing Zuko's words to shreds as soon as she could or maybe tacking it up to a dart board to throw her knives at. Telling Azula was not an option.

"Mai," said Azula firmly. "Give me it. Now."

Mai gathered up her things, stuffing the letter into her bag. "I don't have to do everything you say," she shot at Azula, as sharp as one of her knives. She walked over to Suki, where the young warrior had been accosted by several of the beach's good-looking (and some not so good-looking) and strong (and some not so strong) boys. Ty Lee and Azula exchanged a surprised glance at this sudden turn of events. They both slipped a little closer to the group, just enough to overhear what was being said.

"I don't know if I'm free tonight," Azula heard Suki admit to one of her admirers. "You see, my- friend is throwing a party and I just _have _to be there." Azula smiled, satisfied with Suki's loyalty and moved away. Ty Lee however, remained within earshot.

"Who's your friend?" the same boy persisted. "And, if you don't mind me asking, what _kind _of 'friend'?"

Suki flipped a lock of auburn hair of her shoulder. "Just a girlfriend," she answered breezily. "A _best_ friend." And Suki couldn't help but doubt the truth of her statement.

"You think I could get an invitation?" the boy's hand snaked around her shoulders, toying with a strand of her hair. "What kind of party is it?"

"Just a party. An _important _party. You wouldn't want to miss it. And if you go walking along the beach over there at, oh I don't know, around nine, you won't be able to miss it. Trust me."

"Towards the Fire Lord's old house?" asked another of Suki's admirers. "Whoa, you sure we won't get in trouble? You sure we don't need invitations?"

Suki shrugged the first boy's arm off of her shoulders, rolling her eyes in his direction. "Oh, I don't know," she said with a sigh. "Does it matter? I mean, it's just the beach and no one goes there anymore. Can't you just crash it or something? Why ask me?" She ducked out of their group and went to join Mai.

"Hey," said Suki. "Where'd Azula and Ty Lee go?" Ty Lee ducked her head down below the sand dune she was hiding behind, listening.

Mai shrugged. "I don't know. Probably back to the house."

"Oh," said Suki, looking at her bare feet. She didn't know why, but she'd always found it awkward to be around Mai. "Did you need something?"

"D'you think Prince Zuko is a traitor?" asked Mai abruptly, bluntly.

Suki looked up in shock and surprise. "Why do you- oh," she said, "you and he… you guys were…"

"Yes," answered Mai firmly. "He was my boyfriend."

"I'm sorry. About Zuko, well, I'm not so sure what to think. I mean, I know that most of the Fire Nation thinks that, about him and Iroh, but they were good people. Of course, I never knew them personally, but he always seemed decent. I'm not sure what to think anymore, really."

"I don't know either," replied Mai softly, so softly that Ty Lee had issues hearing her. "I thought I knew him, and I thought we really cared about each other, but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Did you really feel strongly about him?"

"Yes," said Mai under her breath. "So much. More than I'm sure he ever felt about me."

Suki took a deep breath. "Then if I were you," she said finally, "I would forget anything anyone else tells me and go after him, no matter what anyone says. If I ever loved someone that strongly, I would never, ever, give up on them. I would wait till nobody was looking, and then go after him."

Mai turned away to face Azula and Ty Lee returning. "Are you two ready to throw a party?" asked Azula triumphantly. "Excellent work. Now even more people will come."

Suki nodded without saying anything, haunted by the previous night's dreams. Her trust in Azula had been permanently shaken by the knowledge that the princess was keeping something from her. "I guess so," Suki finally said.

Azula's amber eyes flicked between Suki's offhand expression and Mai's emotionless reactions. As soon as Azula was distracted, Mai looked away. A part of her felt very guilty about keeping Suki hostage in this way, especially now that she had heard Suki's advice. But it was a rather small part, seeing as Suki's presence could attract the Avatar and his friends and in turn attract, if he had carried out what he had intended, her ever elusive boyfriend.

Ty Lee clasped her hands, looking perfectly angelic. "I'm so excited for tonight," she said brightly. "We should go buy new outfits." She put an arm around Suki's shoulders and whispered to Suki, "Maybe Mai will stop being so gloomy if we get her a new boyfriend."

"Maybe," replied Suki distractedly, her thoughts on her dreams.

* * *

.:Ember Island Royal Palace:.

Katara stared at the rain that shrouded Ember Island. It had descended upon them quickly, seeming to come out of absolutely nowhere. It was cold, maybe so for Toph, huddled in a blanket, or Zuko, blowing on his hands, but not for Sokka or Katara. The Fire Nation had felt much too hot for someone from the South Pole, but this rain was a nice reminder of home.

The group was camped in the Fire Lord's old palace, somewhere Zuko had said even Azula wouldn't dare to enter. The memories that surrounded the palace were far too painful. At least for him.

And yet again, Katara was torn between despising him or trusting him all over again. A part of him cared for him, but another part, a much stronger part, still hated Zuko. Maybe a part of her would always hate him. But did that mean a part would always care for him? She just wished that she could decide between the two. And besides, she had her doubts about Zuko's intentions on this trip.

Of course she had her doubts. Sokka had never been a selfish person, but this sidetrack from their original plans on Sokka's account seemed greedy. Katara herself felt a little guilty about leaving Aang behind on such short notice, especially now that she knew how he felt about her, but her justifications for her own actions were tied to protecting her brother and her friend. Was that not an excusable reason? Besides, Aang had agreed that Sokka ought to try. She dismissed her thoughts of selfishness with the consolation that Sokka had originally planned to go alone. She couldn't have let him do that, could she?

The Fire Lord's old palace had long been abandoned, but Katara could see the remnants of a happy life. A child's charred drawing, half concealed by a pile of rubble and ash, a pile of velvet cloth, once luxurious and beautiful, now filthy and moldy. A life gone to waste. Katara couldn't help but wonder why the Royal Family had abandoned such a place. She thought to ask Zuko, but then dismissed the thought entirely, realizing that such a thing would be impossible for her. Still, she wondered.

The rain cleared up in the early afternoon and Zuko said, "Azula's probably staying along the beach, where we were last time."

"We?" Katara found herself asking crossly.

Zuko hesitated. "Azula and I," he corrected patiently.

Rolling her eyes, Katara turned to Toph. The younger girl looked perplexed, sitting up, blind eyes wide. Katara noticed that her hands groped the stone floor.

"Toph, what's up?" asked Sokka sharply, suddenly very alert.

Toph turned to Zuko. "Are you sure no one else is here?"

Zuko turned pale. "I-I thought so."

"Well, think again," said Toph pointing outside. "There's a lot of people out on that beach and they're setting up for something big."

"I think we need to do some research," said Sokka. "Everyone, let's go in to town and see what's up."

A few hours later, the group sat in the town center, leaning against a brick wall. His face shrouded from curious passerby by a heavy cloak, Zuko said, "Azula's obviously making a lot of fuss."

"Obviously," said Katara. "What did she think she was doing, throwing a party? And right in front of our camp too."

"It sounds like it's going to be big," said Sokka. "Most people are talking about it. They either have invitations or are crashing it. We need to crash it."

"How?" said Toph. "Everyone can recognize Zuko and Azula can recognize all of us."

"Like I said, it's going to be big. No one's going to pick us out from the crowd if we're dressed like everyone else. Remember Aang with the headband?"

"I'm not sure we have any other choice," said Zuko. "We're not going to get another opportunity when Azula can be so easily distracted."

"You're right," Katara relented. Everyone stared at her. "What?" she snapped. "I can agree with Zuko! Sometimes!"

"We don't have another choice," agreed Sokka. "Let's get moving."

"We should buy whatever anyone else is buying," pointed out Katara. "We look plenty Fire Nation, but we're hardly locals."

"Like I _said_," replied Sokka in an exasperated tone, "let's get moving."

* * *

.:Ember Island Marketplace:.

Between choosing new ensembles for the party and snacking, Ty Lee and Suki were utterly exhausted. Sitting on a bench at the side of a local bazaar, they rested.

"Do you think we spent enough money?" asked Suki, running a hand through her hair.

Ty Lee smiled. "Re-lax. We've got plenty."

On the other side of a heavily laden display, Katara inspected jewelry. Toph, who had no interest in such things, wandered away. She glanced at a copper bracelet, wondering if she might metal-bend it into something useful. She amused herself with the thought of what she could use it for until two all too familiar voices reached her ears:

"Do you think Mai will ever get over Zuko?"

"I hope so. It's not healthy to be so focused on one guy."

As Toph recognized both, she realized that something was very, very wrong.

Later that evening, Katara, dressed for the party, looked out at the brightly lit beach from the Fire lord's old palace. "I can't believe that we can actually do this," she said to Toph. "I mean, we've never really been able to corner Azula before."

Toph looked disgruntled. "I think Sokka's in for a nasty surprise," she muttered, thinking of what she had overheard. She wanted to tell Sokka, but hadn't found an opportunity.

"Huh?" said Katara nonchalantly, but Toph shrugged and walked away.

.:Ember Island Royal Palace:.

Sokka lovingly placed his sword behind a charred chest of drawers. They'd all hid their belongings, just in case anything happened. "Before we go down there, we'll need convincing aliases. It would be ideal not to have any interaction between us, but if there has to be, we have to have false names. Katara, you were Sapphire, right? Sapphire Fire."

Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka's pretensions of authority. Toph snorted at the ridiculousness of the name ad even Zuko stifled a laugh. Ignoring them, Sokka continued, "Azula will most likely recognize us, but that doesn't mean everyone will. Toph, you think of any names?"

"I don't see the need, but, Sokka, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Not now, Toph! Anyways, I've heard the name 'Ursa' being used commonly enough. Toph, you take that one and-"

"No."

They all stared at Zuko. He flushed and looked away. "Can't she have a different name?" said Zuko by way of explanation. "Azula's attention might be provoked if she hears that one."

Sokka and Toph accepted this. They accepted that there might be some things that Zuko might never tell them. But Katara remained curious, but she hid her feelings. "What about 'Song'?" volunteered Zuko. "It's common enough."

Toph shrugged. "Hey, one name is as good as another. But Sokka, I really need to-"

"What about you, Zuko?" said Sokka, ignoring Toph.

"Me? I was thinking of going by 'Li'. See, it's always been my name in the Earth-"

"Wait a sec, you're going to go by 'Li'?" Sokka shook his head. "No way. I'm going by Li. I've always been Li."

"Hardly," said Katara. "You've never needed an alias."

"Yes I have!" said Sokka, nonplussed. "What about all this time we've been in the Fire Nation?!"

"You went by 'Wang Fire' or something," said Toph. "Never by 'Li'."

"Excuse me, but a _master swordsman_ told me to go by Li. He said it was much more common."

"Only because you gave him your actual name!"

"Hey, listen guys," said Zuko, cutting in to the conversation. "I went by Li all through the Earth Kingdom. It's always been my alias. Can't I just use it?"

"Didn't I hear Iroh call you something like 'Junior' once in Ba Sing Se?" snickered Katara.

"No," protested Zuko, face turning slightly red.

"You guys want to capture Azula?' said Toph smarmily.

Both Sokka and Zuko nodded.

"Then let's get moving!" Toph smiled. Sokka and Katara walked past her, but she stopped Zuko before he could. "Zuko, you've got to do something about that scar. Everyone's going to recognize it, not just Azula."

Katara and Sokka turned around. "She's right Zuko," said Sokka. "And luckily, I have just the thing."

Going back up the stairs, he retrieved his sword. Unwrapping the black cloth wrapped around the sheath, he held it up. "Ta da! A headband! Zuko, just wind it around your scar and then comb your hair over it. It's dark, so it should do."

Zuko took the band of black cloth and clumsily wrapped it around his head, trying to cover as much of his scar as he could. However, it seemed that, no matter how he tied it, the cloth drooped over his eyes, obscuring his vision. "Why won't this thing work?" he muttered, frustratingly resisting turning the little piece of cloth into cinders.

"Here," said Katara, approaching him as the others left. "Let me try." As she tried winding the band around his head, she asked, "Who was Ursa?"

Staring straight ahead, Zuko replied, "I don't want to talk about it."

"She was your mother, wasn't she?"

He refused to admit it, still hurt by her rant in the clearing. "I said I didn't want to talk about it."

Her hands were gentle. "That's okay," she murmured. "Sometimes I didn't want to talk about it either."

He didn't reply. Hands trembling, she wrapped the cloth around his head, careful not to touch his scar. She could feel the pull of attraction between her and Zuko. His golden eyes watched her as she puzzled over the headband, her hands almost resting on his shoulders. She took up the cloth again, and as she tried wrapping it once more, her fingers carelessly brushed his scar.

"Sorry," she whispered, but her fingers loosed over the cloth and it floated down to their feet. Her hand stayed on his forehead, as if mesmerized. The last time they'd touch like this, it had been in Ba Sing Se. The memories brought a flush to her face, and intently, Zuko caught her hand in his own, and as she forgot her earlier anger, she relented for a moment, just one moment. The attraction was too strong.

He leaned forward as if to kiss her, and Katara found her face tilting up forwards his. But he stopped. Something made him stop and Katara stopped too, quickly wrapping the headband around his forehead and hurrying away without even a whispered word of goodbye.

* * *

.:The Beach:.

Twilight found Suki in a halter top of russet silk, a shade that brought out the color in her hair. A gathered skirt was tied at her hips, the hem heavy with gold embroidery. Her hair was artfully piled on top of her head, with a few key strands falling down to frame her face. The amber light of topaz twinkled at her ears and one wrist. She laughed with Ty Lee as if born and bred to be one of Azula's companions.

Ty Lee sparkled in a white dress, her hair free of its confining braid. Her dress was sleeveless, falling to her knees in uneven layers. Both girls looked lovely, but Suki outshone Ty Lee.

"So, are you… involved with anyone?" inquired Suki teasingly

Ty Lee glanced suspiciously at Suki. "No…" she replied slowly. "Well, maybe, but just a little. Just a little- flirtation. On my part anyway. Nothing else. Besides," she laughed, "Azula would kill me if she knew."

"Azula doesn't know? I thought you too were pretty good friends."

"Oh we were-are. Believe me, hunting the Avatar really brings people close together. And Mai, Azula and I all grew up together. But this isn't the kind of thing we could talk about."

Suki laughed shortly. "Oh, I know the feeling."

Ty Lee glanced at her as if suspecting mockery. Then she laughed too. "I know how silly I'm being about all of this," she giggled, "but this guy, he's so smart, and brave. Funny too. You hardly see that anymore. Plus he's really cute."

"So, why can't Azula hear about all of this? He sounds like the kind of guy you'd want to tell people about." For some strange reason, Suki felt a bit of jealousy.

Ty Lee looked away. "No," she replied softly, "he's exactly the kind of guy you don't tell people about. You see," she took a deep breath, "he's kinda sorta the- enemy?" She cringed a little.

Suki was taken aback. For some reason, she believed it. "Oh, I get it. Azula would freak if she knew."

Ty Lee flashed a grin. "Exactly. She knows, but she doesn't know I feel like that. No one really does."

"So, who is he?"

"Promise you won't tell? Really swear?"

Suki nodded.

"Alright, I trust you. He's… a guy from the Water Tribe. But not just that. I might be able to get away with that. He's been traveling with the Avatar. We met up a few times while hunting them. Only, we were kind of fighting each other. He's probably scared stiff of me by now."

Suki put a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. "Don't say that," she ordered, feeling odd at Ty Lee's description. _Do I know him?_ She wondered.

"But it's true." Ty Lee looked down at her hands. "Every time a guy sees what I can do, how I fight, he runs away. It's like I have to hide who I am for people to like me." She sighed. "There's a reason for the name 'Circus Freak' you know."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Feeling awkward, Suki tried a different approach, trying to figure out who this person was. "So, anyways, what's this guy's name?"

Ty Lee smiled. "Oh, I think it's Sokka. He's really cute, with these gorgeous eyes, and…"

_Sokka._ For some reason, the name recalled a memory: A carelessly laughing young man leaning in a doorway, teasing her about some dance lesson. The memory brought a heat of embarrassment to her face. _Dance lesson!_ Suki didn't think she'd ever had a dance lesson in her life! Why would she have a dance lesson? _Sokka._ She promised herself that she'd find out more about him, right then, and that she'd find out more about this stupid dance lesson.

-Sokka's Perspective-

So I'm standing like an idiot in the middle of Azula's party, thinking about how I might find a nice, dark corner to lurk in instead of having to put up with all these spoiled rich kids when Toph comes to talk to me. Of course she's _not _supposed to be doing this unless it's an emergency, which it isn't, and I tell her so. She says it's important, very important, but, naturally, I'm too busy to talk to her. I'm sure it's what she's been trying to tell me all afternoon and if it's waited this long, it can wait longer. Besides, it's probably some complaint about how her feet can't see with all this sand, and I can't do anything about that.

I'm really not enjoying myself at all, I wish this was all over and that I could be with Suki already. I hadn't realized how much I missed her until Azula took her away from me.

Well, anyways, I don't know why Toph is breaking our cover like this. Didn't we agree in advance not to associate with each other? Of course, _that_ doesn't stop Zuko and Katara from looking at each other like _that_. I shouldn't be too surprised, especially since Zuko's confessed that he likes her, and I'm pretty sure that Katara's always had a thing for him. But that shouldn't excuse them from looking like lovesick poodle-monkeys! I don't like it. And if you ask me why, it's because she's my sister, and, you know, he is- was our enemy. And that makes it really, _really_, weird. But I guess we can take care of it later. Right now, the couple _I _should be worried about, is me and Suki.

I _need _to find her. I know how selfish that sounds, so don't tell me. I just need to. The thought of her in a prison- I can't deal with it! And the thought of Azula hurting her is the worst of the worst. I swear, if she's done anything terrible and out of the ordinary for Azula, I'll personally make sure that the same happens to her. I'm sure Zuko would be happy to help.

So, I'm looking around for one of Azula's minions when I see someone who likes kind of familiar. Maybe it's just that she's standing next to Ty Lee. Oh, _Ty Lee._ Now there's an idea!

Of course, it probably would be wiser to get Mai to talk. I could get Zuko over, and, you know. But maybe I could pull the _I love her so much_ card over Ty Lee and she'd buy it. The funny thing is, of all the lies I've told, this one might be true.

So I'm edging around the side of the crowd, trying to get as close as I can to Ty Lee and her friend when I finally get a good look at the friend's face: Blue-grey eyes in a fine delicately boned face, auburn hair flowing in strands over her forehead. She rubs her nose with a delicate hand that could easily hold a fan or a sword. _Oh no, _I think. _Oh, shoot._

Of course it can't be Suki. That would be illogical, and impossible. What in the world would _she _be doing at one of Azula's parties when she's supposed to be wasting away in a dungeon, waiting for me to come save her, which really doesn't sound like Suki to me.

So I don't think it's her. That would be stupid, getting my hopes up like that. Of course, I don't think _Oh, wait. Doesn't that mean she's on Azula's side now?_ And I don't consider _Why the heck is she talking to Ty Lee!! _Instead, I'm staring at her like the idiot I am, not thinking about these questions, watching her toss her hair over her shoulder and laugh with Ty Lee. I can't tear my eyes away.

She looks up over Ty Lee's shoulder and I catch her eye. The instant she registers my face, her face goes pale and she touches Ty Lee's shoulder with a murmured word. I don't hear it, does it matter?

She weaves her way through the crowd, to the edge of the party and once she's clear of the bright lights, I see her break into a run, up the sandy slope, towards the Fire Lord's old palace. Towards our camp. Of course, curiosity is overwhelming me.

Like an idiot, I'm running through the crowd after her. I don't care if Azula sees. I don't care if Zuko, Katara, and Toph see. Heck, I don't care if the Fire Lord sees. I'm following and no one's going to stop me. All I have to do is catch up.

* * *

.:Ember Island Royal Palace:.

Knowing for certain that she was being followed, no, chased, Suki climbed through the underbrush and found her way into the courtyard of the Fire Lord's old palace. _Not exactly the hiding place I had in mind, _she thought to herself as she flung open a set of red doors. Running down a tarnished gold hallway, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, making a mental note to never to run to the ominous old palace to hide again. Her breath coming in short gasps, she turned a corner and tripped, falling with a splash into a puddle. Suki didn't look for what had made her trip, thinking it to have been just some rubble. Only it had been a sword.

Coming to a halt beside a huge red door at the end of the corridor, she leaned against it. _Not this again,_ she thought with a sigh, thinking of the red door in her dream. She reached over and tried the handle, already knowing it to be locked. Of course it was.

Waiting for that Sokka to show up, Suki thought of him. Of course she would. After all, this was the dream that he would show up in. Of course, once he showed up, she'd woken up. And this time, she was ready to wake up.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him as he sprinted down the length of the corridor. As he reached her, she looked up into clear blue eyes. She had forgotten him, and still did not quite remember. "Hello Sokka," she said dryly.

"Suki?" he asked, taking a tentative step forward. He reached out to her, to take her hand, but she brushed his away. "Stop it," she commanded. "We can have time for that later. First, tell me what's going on."

"What are you talking about? I've come to rescue you."

"Well, I figured _that _out. I just don't know why."

"Well, I have some questions too. Such as, why are you here? Talking to Ty Lee? Flirting with Fire Nation boys? What happened to you Suki?" His eyes searched hers for answers.

She turned away. "I don't know. I really don't."

"Tell me you're not lying to me Suki. Tell me you haven't been with Azula all along. Tell me-"

"I don't know! Why are you treating me like I'm some helpless double agent? I'm not helpless! And I'm not a double agent! At least, as far as I know."

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember Kyoshi Island? Being a warrior? Me?"

Suki sighed. "I remember you, Sokka. I think that means something. But no, I don't remember the rest. I just remember waking up in the royal palace, and Azula telling me that I had a bad head injury and that it would take time for my memory to come back. Since then, I just know what I've been hearing. And most of it has come from Azula."

"I don't know that I can believe you," said Sokka finally, after a long pause. "I want to, for- whatever we had before, but I don't know that I can."

"But I remember you. I knew you were coming. I had a- dream about you. You handed me some kind of headdress, gold plate. And when Ty Lee described you, I knew. And when I first heard your name, tonight, I remembered something else."

He looked at her, eyes filled with something like desperation. He was desperate to be able to believe something. "What?"

"You- you were in a doorway. Asking me about my- dance lesson." A blush rose in Suki's face.

He looked at her with something like hope. "And I remember something else. Now that I've been able to talk to you. I know that you were hurt when you lost someone at the North Pole, but I really can take care of myself. You don't have to protect me so much. I can do things on my own," said Suki.

A light shone at the entrance to the corridor. Voices were heard, one of them was Azula's. Suki pushed Sokka away. "And now," she whispered to him, "you'll have to do something on your own too. I'm sorry to betray you now, but I'll come back for you. I promise."

"And if you don't?"

"I keep my promises. I've missed you Sokka.'

"I've missed you too-"

The hallway filled with guards. Sokka turned around to face them. Suki cowered in a corner. "Just go away!" She cried out. "Leave me alone. I don't know who you are!"

"Suki?" Sokka was confused, despite himself.

"Just go! I don't know who you're talking about. Just leave me alone!" Suki ran from the hall running past Ty Lee, running away from all of this. She stopped as she exited the palace, turning only then to look back.

"I'm sorry Sokka," she whispered, tears rolling down her face. "But this is the way it has to be. For now."

-

A/N: Finally! I know I'm a little late, getting this out, but I had a dramatic plot change in mind and a few more scenes to add. So, leave me reviews if you like. Constructive criticisms are always appreciated! ;)


	4. Part 4, All's Fair in Love

A/n: I know that this is very, very late, and I feel horrible about it, but a bunch of crisises came up, and between school, pSAT, model UN, and my cat getting mauled by some creature, I've had absolutely no time. I'm, actually, pretty proud of myself for squeezing time to write in with all the chaos. Please read and review! -EK

**Forgotten Words, Part 4, All's Fair in Love**

_by Elle Kitty_

__

_"I know you're just trying to help, but I can take care of myself."_

_"I know you can."_

_"Then why are you being so over-protective?"_

_"It's so hard to lose someone you care about."_

Did that matter anymore?

Azula's malicious smile told Sokka that it didn't. The last few hours had been a blur, between Suki's escape his capture, Sokka hadn't had time to really think. But while he was very confused with Suki's behavior, he did know one thing: He wanted answers, and to get them, he still needed to rescue her.

Or maybe he needed the rescuing? After all, he was the one who was really in trouble. It wasn't Suki standing here, chained in front of Azula. It was Sokka.

He stared at the floor, refusing to lock eyes with his captor. Here stood before him the one person who had taken Suki away from him. Whenever he had held anyone, besides himself, accountable for Suki's imprisonment, it had been Azula. Yet he could not bring himself to meet her gaze. He was too afraid that she would see the fear in his eyes.

Azula addressed the guard nearest her, the captain. "I don't think your presence here is really necessary." A feral grin alit her smug face.

The captain saluted her smartly. "With all due respect princess, we are here to protect you." The captain bowed and the other guards followed suit.

Azula's eyes flashed. The king's daughter did not like it when her subjects disobeyed. "Do I need a guard? Any guard?" Her golden eyes stared the captain down. "Have I ever needed guards? I, who took Ba Sing Se? I, the heir to the Fire Nation? Do I?"

Sokka felt a wave of pity as the captain squirmed under Azula's burning gaze. He shuddered to think that he too would be exposed to her fury in a matter of minutes.

"Well- I-" the guard stuttered. "Your- your father's orders, princess. His very own."

"He does not matter. He always overreacts."

"He is concerned for your safety, princess. He is your father, princess."

Azula's eyes narrowed. "Repeat that once more," she said, her voice not in the growl Sokka had expected, but instead a calm, confident purr.

The guard hesitated, not sure how to handle this new side of Azula. "He is-"

"No, not all of it," Azula waved her hand. "Just that one last word. That one last important word. Go on."

"Princess?"

"Ah. Good. That one. New remember that," Azula smirked. "Remember that I am your princess and you obey me. Leave us."

Without any real choice, the guards departed, grumbling to themselves all the while. Sokka felt his knees quake with fear, but quickly planted his feet. He was determined to die as a warrior, not a coward.

Instead of blasting him, right there, right then, Azula lounged in her throne upon the dais. Inspecting her blood red nails, she smiled. Sokka exhaled in relief, although he hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath. Azula was obviously not going to kill him just yet.

"So, Sokka's your name, right?' said Azula casually, parroting the words from the Invasion. "She is my favorite prisoner, isn't she? Maybe too much of a favorite for your taste. She's not waiting for you to rescue her anymore, is she?"

"What have you done to Suki?"

"What have I done to her? What have you done to her? She waited in a dark cell all those months, waiting for her hero to save her. Of course, you never did. So, before you start accusing me, you'd better clean your own conscience, shouldn't you?"

"I know I messed up. I'm here to fix that."

"Oh, now you just sound like my brother. Bad move; you know how much I hate him. Which reminds me, where is little Zu-Zu anyway?"

Sokka didn't reply. Azula sighed. "Another bad move. By not saying anything, you've just told me that he is here. Now look what you've done. You've put your friends in jeopardy. Oh, and I know there's more of you here on the island. Not even you would be stupid enough to come alone."

"I'm not here to answer your questions. You're here to answer mine," said Sokka through clenched teeth. It was a risky gamble, insulting Azula this way, but it was one he had to take. After all, what did he have to lose?

"What are you talking about? You are here because you are a prisoner. I am here because I am a princess and you, prisoner, are going to answer each and everyone of my questions, whether you want to or not. You've already hung around in a cell all night and all day. You're not going anywhere."

"But you already knew that, didn't you? I'm not going anywhere until I find out what happened to Suki. It's why I'm not leaving now."

"Then you're a fool," replied Azula simply.

Sokka didn't respond. He knew his own guilt and stupidity. Zuko was right; this girl had made him go off the deep end. And now he was going to pay for it.

Azula's eyes narrowed as she mistook his shame for insolence. "But you already knew that," she continued, turning his own words against him, "didn't you?"

With a burst of compliance, Sokka spread his arms out as far as the chains allowed and shrugged, a typical Sokka gesture. "Fine, then. I'm just the fool who wants to know what happened to his girlfriend."

Azula considered. "But I must get something in return..."

"Humor me," argued Sokka flatly. "You can't threaten me with anything new, since I'm going to die anyway. Grant my last request, and I'll take it to the grave. Unfortunately, I mean that literally."

She tapped her chin, seeming not to hear him. "I must have some bargaining tool."

"Like I said," said Sokka, worried about what sort of "bargaining tool" Azula might have at her disposal. "Humor me"

"Hmm."

"Believe me, all I want to know is why Suki was acting so strangely. That, and, of course, her happiness and safety. Just tell me. It doesn't hurt you."

"Her death," said Azula aloud.

Sokka blanched and Azula then knew that her arrow had found its mark. "What? No," said Sokka, "no, not even you would- you wouldn't-" He hit himself on the forehead. "What am I thinking? Of course you would!"

"I would, and I will, unless I am... persuaded otherwise. Your choice."

Sokka met the princess's gaze. "You'll kill her anyways."

Azula held up a hand. "On my honor."

"You have no honor."

"Quite." Azula turned away, watching Sokka out of the corner of her eye. "You know," she began idly, "you wouldn't believe how much this reminds me of how I first met your Suki. After our battle, that is."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, if you and the Avatar hadn't been so careless with your bison, she wouldn't have been captured."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't you get it? She was captured while trying to protect your bison. She was captured and her warriors killed trying to save him. Now, think of what might have happened had she not been protecting the bison."

"This is between you and me Azula. Don't bring Appa into this in order to try and guilt-trip me. Now, You questioned her, didn't you? What did she tell you?"

"She was desperate. You couldn't imagine the fear in her blue eyes. Eyes filled with such defiance that I was tempted to pick them out with a needle. But I didn't. As you well know. It was annoying," Azula confessed, "to stand there and know that she was your prisoner, helpless to every degree, and see that she still had that defiance. Well, I had to do something about it."

Azula watched Sokka's knees quake with interest. She hadn't entirely expected to receive such a reaction. Beginning to get into her large lie, she added details.

"She really did expect to die, you know. After all, her loyal Kyoshi Warriors had all shared that fate. And she felt guilty. At the very end of our fight, her fear overtook her and she dashed away into the forest, abandoning her warriors. You can imagine how the shame ate away at her for that. But one can't blame her. Fear sometimes does the funniest things to people.

"But of course we caught her in the end. She shouldn't have been too surprised; no one gets away from the Fire Nation, but she showed her defiance in everyway possible. I remember that on the way towards Ba Sing Se, she refused to eat, refused to give up her uniform, refused to do anything that she thought might help me. She protested the way an animal does, when it is too stupid to know any better, and, of course, we treated her like an animal."

"But she's alive," said Sokka, brave voice shaking ever so slightly.

Azula scoffed. "Brave words and acts don't get you anywhere. But her defiance had to cease. I called her before me. I remember the way she cowered, like the way you refuse to cower now. I remember her torn robe, her tangled hair, make-up smeared face. I might have killed her then. But I had a use for her. As I now have a use for you."

"And what is that use?" challenged Sokka.

Azula fixed him with a glare. "I'm painting you a picture of your Suki," she chided. "Don't sidetrack me. You'll know your uses eventually."

"What use did you have for her?"

"Like I said, she expected to die. But I was merciful. Instead, I had her hand me her uniform, fans, and all of the effects of a Kyoshi warrior. Then, as she stood shivering in the cold throne room, clad in sackcloth, I decided to play nice and ask her some questions. Of course, she didn't answer. So I sent her away and then called her back in a few days. It took several days without food before she actually told me anything."

Sokka dropped his proud, brave stance and fell to his knees.

"Oh, yes," said Azula, embellishing her lie. Lies were always best when they began with a truth, and Suki's imprisonment was just the truth that she needed. "You know, Sokka, I think that I know quite a bit about you from those sessions with your little Suki. Such a clever peasant, coming up with that invasion scheme. But it failed. It failed because I knew about it in advance, courtesy of your Suki."

"What?!" yelled Sokka. "She- she told you? Just like that?!"

Azula laughed. "Oh, no!" she smiled, enjoying the effect of her words on Sokka. "Like I said, defiance kept her going for quite some time. Defiance and hope. Hope that you'd come and rescue her. You see, she'd have these ridiculous little fantasies that you were coming to save her. The thought of you kept her strong for quite a while, but she couldn't stay strong forever. She broke. Like they all do. Like you will too."

Sokka shook his head. "Suki's stronger than that," he argued, but then his voice broke.

Azula cackled. "Strong? Strong?! What do you know of strong? If you think that your little pathetic girlfriend could withstand weeks of darkness, weeks of torture, with nothing but her hope, which you of course broke, you are sadly mistaken."

Desolate, Sokka's shoulders sank. "My fault," he whispered. "All my fault. Just like Yue after all."

"Of course she broke. Just like all the others. Just like you."

"Yue," whispered Sokka. "Suki."

Azula smiled sourly at her prisoner. Withdrawing something from the seat beside her, she tossed it at the ground before Sokka. "She would have wanted you to have it," she said calmly.

Like a drowning man reaching for a piece of driftwood, Sokka reached for the small, simple thing. He turned it over in his hand, running his hand over the heavy metal fan. "Suki," he whispered.

Watching Sokka with a look of disgust, Azula snapped her fingers. "Guards, take him."

Sokka raised his head as the guards took hold of his shoulders. "Why won't she remember me?" he asked.

Azula regarded him idly. "Maybe she doesn't want to," she said calmly, turning her back on him. Azula left the room.

.:Old Fire Lord's Palace, Ember Island:.

Katara momentarily closed her eyes to the afternoon sun. She felt the urge to shut everything out overwhelm her. It had been hard enough, watching her brother get dragged away by Azula's guards, being helpless to save him, hard enough to stand so near to Zuko, knowing that they had nearly kissed, but this new dilemma took the ticket. And it came in the form of the Avatar. She sighed.

"You sent for Aang to come all the way over here?" asked Katara in a dead tone of voice. She stared at Zuko.

Zuko flinched. Even with his scar, it was clear that there were dark bags under his eyes. None of them had slept well that night and they had been up all the day, after the party. "It seemed necessary," said Zuko. Katara rolled her eyes. Zuko continued, "Don't worry; I explained everything in the letter."

"As if this were the sort of thing we could explain in a letter!" Katara exploded. "He'll be here in a matter of minutes. He'll land, ask questions that we don't want to answer, and then we'll need damage control for the amount of wind he'll create in the Avatar State!"

"Relax," said Toph, "Aang's more level-headed than that."

Appa descended into the courtyard with Aang and Haru. "Teo and the Duke stayed behind," volunteered Haru as he tossed down a few bags.

"What did Sokka do this time?" asked Aang as he leapt down. "All I got was letter saying that Sokka messed up. Badly."

Katara shot Zuko a look. "'Explained everything'?"

"I might have exaggerated."

"What did Sokka do?" asked Haru. "I thought that it was Katara who rescued people," he shot Katara an admiring glance.

Zuko clenched his fists at the attention Katara received from Haru. "We don't know what he did?" Zuko growled. "That's the problem. All we know is that he went running off after something and got himself captured by Azula. Idiot."

Katara glared at Zuko, but didn't answer. Aang leaned on his glider. "Either way, we've got to find him," said the Avatar. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to fly over the island have a look around."

"You can't do that," objected Toph. "You're too conspicuous, glider or not. We all are, actually."

Katara nodded. "She's right. Azula will be on the look-out for all of us, not just Aang and Zuko. The only person here that she hasn't really met is Haru."

"Up to a challenge?" Toph asked Haru. "Scout out the area around Azula's beach house in case of any secret bunkers. Well, not bunkers, but you get the idea. Just be sneaky and don't get caught."

Haru smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"As for the rest of us," added Zuko, "we need to pack up and move out. It's become too risky to stay here. We can make a camp in the forest."

Aang sighed. "And I just got here," he muttered, going in with all the others to collect their belongings.

Katara lingered. She watched from a safe distance as Zuko poured rubble onto the remains of their cooking fire. But as soon as he had dusted off his hands, she approached him, palms quivering. But she refused to be intimidated about what they had and hadn't done mere hours ago. The events that had taken place at the party had confused and befuddled everyone, but nothing could have altered what had happened mere moments before Sokka's disappearance. He had tried to kiss her, and she wanted to know why. It was such a big step to go from enemies to- she wasn't sure what to call it.

Watching as Zuko's dark hair fell over his face, she was reminded of Jet. But Jet had come and gone, and Jet wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't let it happen again. Jet had killed whatever had been between him and Katara, and they had buried it together. It was dead, whatever it had been. Just like him.

Zuko stood and approached her. "Katara, Sokka's in big trouble. Waiting around won't help him."

Bitterly, Katara replied, "We know that. Unfortunately, Zuko, you are not master-of-all-thing-obvious. No matter how much you wish you were master at something."

Zuko raised his eyebrows, silently commenting on her poor mood. Finally, he said, "And what am I a master at?"

"For certain, you're not any good at keeping a girl interested," Katara found herself saying peevishly.

Zuko's forehead crinkled in unspoken amusement. "And you would certainly be an authority on that, wouldn't you?"

"Why did you try to kiss me?"

The words were out before she could stop them. Blushing furiously, Katara stepped back.

"I didn't kiss you."

"But you tried."

"Is that a problem?" Zuko's voice grew dangerously soft.

Katara fiddled with her necklace. "Well, I- I don't know," she finished lamely. "I'm not sure what to say to that."

"I do." Stepping closer, he said sharply, "Drop it."

"No," Katara stepped back. "This is the second time you've almost kissed me, isn't it?"

Relenting, Zuko stepped back too. "Yes."

"You almost kissed me in Ba Sing Se, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"But you didn't that time. Because of Iroh and Aang. You stopped."

"Yes."

"Why'd you stop this time?"

Zuko was silent. "We can't be together, Katara," he said finally.

"Why not?"

"We can't."

Katara looked him in the eye. "Now that you're here, give me one reason why we can't be together."

Zuko turned away. "I'm going after Sokka," he said, almost carelessly. "I told him that I'd see this through, and so I will. Don't follow. I'm going alone."

Katara caught his sleeve as he tried to leave. "If you're leaving, if you're going off alone, then give me that one reason." She tried to smile. "What have you got to lose?"

He pulled away. As he left, he threw over his shoulder, "If you play with fire, Katara, you're bound to get burned."

.:Azula's Beach House, Azula's Room:.

Ty Lee tripped on the fine red carpet as she entered Azula's chambers. Azula raised her eyebrows. It was highly unusual for Ty Lee to stumble, even tonight, when nothing was normal. But, Azula didn't think much of it. After all, Ty Lee was just Ty Lee. Azula couldn't imagine why current events would unsettle her friend.

"You wanted to talk to me." said Azula, leaning against a bedpost. She phrased it as a statement, not a question.

Ty Lee's brown eyes darted across the room. "Yes," she said hesitantly.

"Whatever could it be?" questioned Azula idly.

Ty Lee shifted her weight from foot to foot. "It's about Mai."

"Mai!" Azula exclaimed, feeling very confused. This was not what she had expected.

"No, not Mai," Ty Lee checked herself. "I meant Suki."

Azula relaxed. "Ah," she said, "I thought you might. What about her?" Secretly, Azula hoped that Ty Lee had discovered some incriminating evidence. Azula was through with the former warrior and intended to dispose of her at the nearest opportunity.

"How can you be so sure that she's loyal to you?" snapped Ty Lee, suddenly fierce.

Azula smirked. "Why would I think her trustworthy? Anyone who would think that would be a fool."

Ty Lee blushed. Azula wondered if Ty Lee had confided something in the Kyoshi warrior. Deciding to change the subject, Azula said, "I'm, actually, rather glad you came. I need your opinion on something."

"On what?" asked Ty Lee, mouth dry.

Azula laughed shortly. "Don't play dumb. I know you were listening in on my conversation with that little Sokka. I'm actually rather pleased."

"Don't call him 'little'."

"Why not?"

"He's a year older than you. He's not 'little'."

"Don't argue Ty Lee; you know you'll lose. And, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think we should do with Sokka? Bring him back to the capital for Father? Keep him with me as bait for his friends? After all, Suki's done what she needed, bringing him here, and I have a need for fresh bait."

Ty Lee swallowed. "Um- well- I suppose..."

"Or should we do away with him? Right here, right now?"

"Um."

"Yes?"

"Do we have to hurt the Water Tribe boy?" whispered Ty Lee.

Azula was silent. Obviously, it had been a mistake to involve her friend. "Ty Lee," she said calmly, keeping her anger under control. "Are you forgetting something?"

Ty Lee shrunk under Azula's piercing gaze. "I don't think so," she whispered.

"Don't tell me that you have any feelings for this peasant."

"I thought you knew," said Ty Lee under her breath. "No," she said outloud.

"Because, you realize that having any such feelings would be a serious mistake."

"Yes."

Azula took one step forward, advancing on Ty Lee. "You know where your duty lies, don't you Ty Lee?"

"But don't you think we could be nice to this prisoner?" she suggested timidly. "We don't have to kill every prisoner we capture, do we?"

Ty Lee immediately regretted her bold suggestion. But she couldn't take it back. She met Azula's eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Azula crisply. "But I don't understand. Are you telling me how to treat my prisoners?"

"I-"

"Ty Lee," Azula's eyes narrowed to slits. "Did you speak up like this when we killed the Kyoshi Warriors?"

"No, but-"

"Did you complain at all when I wanted Uncle to be executed?"

"No, but this is different."

"I fail to see the difference. One prisoner should be the same as another, or is this Sokka different?"

Ty Lee looked at her feet.

"You see, you're showing far too great an interest in this one prisoner. What makes him so special?"

"Nothing. Azula, why are you acting so paranoid? I was just wondering-"

"No." Azula spoke so softly that Ty Lee had trouble hearing her. "You were doing more than that. You still like him."

"I do not!" Ty Lee snapped.

"You do. You're just like Mai after all, aren't you? My two best friends go for enemies and traitors."

"I do not like him!"

"Then, a word of advice. If you don't like him, don't advocate for him!"

Ty Lee looked away. "I'm not," she whispered.

Azula regarded her skeptically. "If it's a boyfriend you want, find one in the Fire Nation. Otherwise, whatever taste you have that leads you to this Sokka is abhorrent."

Ty Lee rose to her full height. "Why?" she demanded. "Why is it so horrible that I like someone? Is it because you're jealous? Of me? And for what? What have I done that you could not?"

"That is quite enough, Ty Lee!" Azula snapped. "Your show of disloyalty is disappointing. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to deal with this silly matter since, as you well know, I have another party to attend to. I expect you to be there as well, looking pretty, so that we can set an excellent image. I must go. We will speak of this later."

As Azula moved to leave, she turned and added, "And, Ty Lee, do not even think of going near that prisoner! He should be nothing to you. He is nothing to you!"

Once Azula had left the room, Ty Lee collapsed into bitter, angry sobs.

.:Azula's Beach House, Suki's Room:.

Meanwhile, Suki leaned her head against the back of her wooden door. Congratulating herself on a performance well acted, she moved across the room, changing out of her ruined party clothes into more practical attire. Tying her hair away from her face, reality finally hit her. And it hit her hard.

She didn't know what she was doing.

Throwing herself onto the pressed linen sheets of her neatly made bed, she resisted the urge to press her face to the pillow and scream with frustration. She had acted without barely a thought, not a single hesitation. As if Sokka would immediately understand her situation and strategy. As if Azula would not stay true to her usual and blast the hapless rescuer. As if Suki could handle all of this without it blowing up in her face. Stupid."

She considered waiting out the afternoon and leaving in the evening, when the dust might have cleared a little. That might give her time to collaborate as well as regain her strength. But, no, she'd told Sokka that she'd come for him, and she intended to keep her promise. If Suki needed one thing, it was Sokka's trust.

As she deliberated her options, Suki moved quickly around the room, gathering her sparse belongings and depositing them in a small bag on her bed. When she had finished, she cautiously picked it up, leaned out the window, and tossed it onto the lawn two stories below her room. She wasn't planning on coming back. She may have been unsure of what she was going to do after finding and ultimately freeing Sokka, but she knew that she wasn't about to return and play the fool to Azula any longer. She wouldn't be able to tolerate it

Figuring that she could pick up her belongings from the lawn later, she donned a simple cloak she had stolen from a servant and closed the curtains at the window, closed the curtains of the bed so that it might appear that she was sleeping, and quickly penned a note to tack to the front of the door, saying that she was ill.

"Take your own advice, will you?"

The voice came unexpectedly. Suki jumped and spun around to face the intruder. Mai stepped out of the shadow of the door way, pale face calm.

"What?" said Suki, aware of how suspicious she appeared with her belongings missing and the cloak around her neck.

"Does 'wait till nobody's looking and then go after him' sound familiar?"

"Oh," said Suki hesitantly. "Oh, that. Well, I suppose that it applies to you and Zuko. I'm not sure how it applies to me."

Mai shrugged. "I'm not the only person in the room with a boyfriend who happens to be an enemy."

Suki tried to laugh, failing miserably. "Is Ty Lee in here? I don't see how you got be talking about me."

"You know who I'm talking about."

"He's not my boyfriend Mai," Suki objected. "I hardly know his name. I mean, I don't know his name."

"Listen," said Mai, ignoring Suki, "I'm never an optimist, so I'm going to put this bluntly. He came to rescue you. Azula's not going to be happy when she finds that out, if she doesn't know it already. He'll be sent to a prison, if not killed. End of his story.

"Meanwhile, you're trying to get to him, aren't you? You're now bent on rescuing him. Azula's not going to be very happy about that either. When she finds out (because she will, of course) you'll be sent away, with or without your boyfriend, and, naturally, rot in prison. End of your story.

"But then again," Mai continued, "You have more than enough experience with Fire Nation prisons, don't you?"

"I'm really confused," said Suki. "Why would I have any experience with any prison?"

"Because, you're not really Fire Nation," said Mai with a sigh. "You were Azula's prisoner."

Suki took a step back. "Wait- What? You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious," answered Mai in a tired voice. "You're Earth Kingdom, not Fire Nation. You were attacked on your way to Ba Sing Se. I don't know much else. Your boyfriend might. So there's a reason to go after him, isn't it?"

Suki took a deep breath. "I'm very confused. But I guess this Sokka has the answers, doesn't he?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Mai rolled her eyes.

Suki turned away and looked at the ground. Where her pants ended at her knee, there was a large purple bruise. It caught Suki's attention.

"Mai," said Suki quietly, "how long was I in prison?"

"At least a month or two."

Suki stared at her bruise. "So... the scars. The bruises. They were from..." She looked up. "They were from Azula, weren't they?"

Mai hesitated. "I wouldn't know, but, whatever. You could say it's in her nature."

Suki narrowed her eyes. "I would think so." She looked up at Mai. "Tell Azula I'm asleep, tell her that I'm shocked, tell her anything about the truth. Got it?"

Mai didn't smile. "She'll figure it out."

Suki shrugged. "I know that. And I don't really care. I'll be long gone when she finds out." She raised her hood.

"Good luck," said Mai.

"Are you sure that you don't want to come?" she asked impulsively. "You could get to Zuko through Sokka. You know that, right?"

Mai turned away. "No," she said firmly. "That way, when Azula asks me if I saw him, I won't have to lie."

Suki put a hand on Mai's shoulder. "You don't have to come back to Azula. You could stay with him."

"No," Mai repeated, shaking Suki's hand off. "I don't want to see him."

"Why not? I thought you said-"

"I know what I said!" Mai snapped. "And I'm sure that he doesn't want to see me either!"

"Why-"

"Because!" Mai whipped around to face Suki. "Why would he? Obviously, there are more important things to him. More important things than his family. His country. His honor. Me. He may have chosen to betray them, but I know where my loyalty lies. I will not see him!"

Mai turned away. "Your Sokka is in one of the store rooms below the house, on the Cliffside. You'd better hurry."

"If I should go find Sokka and go," replied Suki defensively. "Shouldn't you and Zuko do the same? Only, I don't think he's the one in prison here."

Mai stiffened. "I told you that I didn't want to see him."

"I did not!"

"You did."

"I say I did not! It doesn't matter; I won't see him!" She turned and stormed from the room.

Suki momentarily closed her eyes. All she had wanted was for Mai to gain the happiness that she and Sokka might gain. Would gain.

Suki didn't understand Mai's dilemma. After all, all she wanted was her memory back. And she didn't want anything standing in her way.

She turned back to the open doorway and immediately stifled a gasp. Because Azula stood in her way.

.:Azula's Beach House, Ty Lee's Room:.

Ty Lee sat alone in her room, the light from her solitary candle flickering on the walls. Words echoed in the corners of her mind: Friend, traitor, crush, freak. The words she had once used to personify the people around her, some friendly and some not-so. Zuko, whom she'd always looked up to as a child, now a traitor at large in his own country; Mai and Azula, the people she'd thought to be her best friends, now respectively depressed and furious; Sokka, the boy she'd idolized and crushed on from afar. As for freak, well, she kept that one for herself.

But her thoughts returned to Sokka, as they often did, thought mixed up in her own confusion and personal conflict. It surprised her of how quickly an entire world could unravel like yarn if a single thread is pulled. Sokka had been just a flirtation. Yet Ty Lee had dreamed of something more.

Her thoughts strayed to Azula. Azula, who had always dismissed Ty Lee as an insignificant nothing. Ty Lee knew that, to Azula, she was only one step up from Suki. But could Ty Lee choose between a sometimes friend and some boy she hardly knew?

How jealous was Ty Lee of Suki? So trusting, so beloved, the Kyoshi Warrior had seemed to lead a charmed life. Even if the charm went wrong, as it had when she'd fallen into Azula's grasp, Suki had had Sokka to come and save her, no matter what the circumstances. If Ty Lee were to be captured like that, would someone be her rescuer? She already had the answer.

Ty Lee's thoughts moved to her past. Six sisters, like six identical perfect dolls in a window display. Same eyes, same hair, same purpose. But it had been Ty Lee who had chosen to be different. And now, she wanted to change again, this time even more dramatically.

Azula did not trust her in matters such as these, matters in which Ty Lee's intervention might save Sokka's life. Ty Lee had slowly become a nothing, a placeholder, not a real asset to the team. She wondered if she might be more of a use somewhere else. Anywhere else.

She knew Azula to be upstairs somewhere, gloating at a triumph. She knew Sokka to be locked away underground, in a wooden room so that even that Earthbender girl wouldn't be able to find him. She knew Suki to be locked away, or that she would be as soon as Azula had gathered any evidence of betrayal. As for Mai, she wasn't worried. She didn't expect such a passive person to get involved.

Ty Lee realized what she wanted: She wanted Sokka. Not just him, but his admiration, his respect, his trust. What she hadn't had before. And now that the prize was in sight, she was willing to do anything to achieve it.

It was time to change again. Ty Lee got off her bed and walked to her dresser, staring at her reflection. She saw her hair and immediately scowled. Her hair. Just one more piece of a heritage that she didn't want or need.

She reached for the scissors.

.:Azula's Beach House, Suki's Room:.

For some strange reason, Suki was reminded of a cat. Watching Azula as she prowled the room, sharp golden eyes looking for any sign of defiance or guilt in Suki's attitude, Suki felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She felt a sense of intense dislike radiating from Azula as well. And Suki was only too happy to return it.

"What was all of that about?" asked Azula crisply, eyes taking in, not with approval like Mia had, the open window, the absence of Suki's "personal effects", and the cloak around Suki's shoulders.

"I don't know." said Suki, trying to sound as confused as she should be. "Who was he?"

"Did he say anything to you?" asked Azula almost warily.

They locked gazes. "Interesting," said Suki coolly, "that you aren't answering my questions, considering..." She let the question hang.

Azula broke eye contact. "Fine. As you wish. Let me hear some of your questions." She adopted a "guilty-until-proven-innocent" tone.

"Why'd you take away my memory?"

Azula was taken aback. Suki already regretted her words. But she couldn't take them back. She had to know the truth. She may have known that it would have been safer to play dumb and go along with whatever Azula said, but Suki had to know. Because, if Mai was right, she wouldn't get another chance to find out.

Azula's confident smile faded. "What?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

Words, once said, cannot be taken back. "Why?"

Azula inspected her nails. "I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about." Her hands shook. "Are you accusing me?"

"Hardly. Did I say 'accuse'? No. I asked a question, I provided a noun, but you provide verbs. Why would you say 'accuse' unless i have reason to accuse you?"

"You have none! Why would you doubt me? I! Your friend, the person who brought you up from nothing! Would I do it again? I should think not!"

"He obviously knows me! Why wouldn't I remember him? Why don't you want me to remember him?"

"Because he is a peasant and an enemy!" Azula fumed.

Suki ignored her. "Why? Because you took him away from me! Or," she paused, "did you take me away from him?"

Azula bit her lip. She decided to just admit it. "So what if I did? What are you going to do about it? Yelling at me is not going to get you what you want. In fact, it may get you quite the opposite." She snapped her fingers.

Two Firebender soldiers appeared in the doorway. Azula smiled. "You know, I really should thank you, Suki. You're played your part perfectly. You lured your Sokka to me. And I now know his weakness. It's you. I can use you against him, and I can use him against you!"

Suki's blue-grey eyes burned. "You don't gain anything by killing him," she warned. "You'll only make the Avatar hate you all the more."

Azula's eyes gleamed. "But would I gain such hatred by killing you?"

Suki swallowed. "His," she whispered.

"I thought so. But I don't have time to eliminate you right now. Guards, take this traitorous brat to one of the storerooms on the Cliffside. The one that the water gets into. I don't want to see her again for a very, very long time." Azula stepped closer as the guards seized Suki. "You made the wrong decision. You should not have chosen him over me. And it will cost you your life."

Suki hung her head. "But I love him," she whispered, tears running down her face in all too familiar patterns.

"Fine!" said Azula. "You shall have that! And only that! You can eat your love; you can drink it for you shall get nothing else. I never want to see you and your pathetic love again in any form than dead at my feet!"

Suki resisted, kicking out, trying to scratch at her captors' hands. Azula bared her teeth. "I think I shall have you and your Sokka executed together," she said casually. "You before him. And here's an irony for you: You may have betrayed your warriors in order to live a day longer, but, in the end, you all share the same fate. I'll bet they're there laughing in hell, waiting for you."

.:Storerooms:.

The lights were off, and there was no window, but Sokka had gotten used to the darkness. Subconsciously, he knew that outside the prison, it was only dusk, but he was exhausted. Shivering as he crept across the damp wooden floor, in the dark, hands stretched out before him in case he bumped into something, he reached across the pitch black darkness and felt some stacked boxes. With a sigh, he crumbled to the ground beside them and leaned his head against the cold wood. He had a lot to think about.

What had Suki been doing? She must have been crazy, hanging out with Azula one moment, and then calling Sokka by name the next. And what could be wrong with her, knowing almost nothing of life before capture? Azula's choice of words in the throne room came to mind_: What if she doesn't want to remember_? and they stung. But Suki's betrayal hurt the most. That is, if it truly was a betrayal. He was having trouble convincing himself of anything else.

He wondered what the others were doing, the others being Katara, Zuko, and Toph. They were probably having it easy compared to Sokka. After all, they hadn't seen Suki in the crowd, and they hadn't chased after her on a whim, and they hadn't gotten themselves arrested by Azula, and so they weren't the ones locked away in who knew where?

Sokka begun to nod off but shook himself awake. He wanted to be alert the moment Suki arrived. Remembering Suki's confusion the moment she had seen him, he wondered if it was possible that she had truly not known him. But she'd tell him, right? When she cam to bust him out of this dump. That is, if she ever did show up.

A timid scratching at the door brought Sokka back to reality. Rubbing his eyes, he rose unsteadily to his feet. "Anyone there?" he called out in the direction that he thought was the door. He took a step forward and immediately tripped over a crate, stumbling into a puddle of some sort. "Suki? Is that you?" He hoped it wasn't Azula.

He heard a doot creak open and turned in the direction that the noise had come from. Shielding his eyes from the dim light the shone into the room, he saw a girl leave the door slightly ajar and run down to him. "Suki?"

She ran into Sokka's arms, nearly knocking him over. He smiled. This was more like the Suki he remembered. He held her tight, running his hand through her shoulder-length hair.

She cried into Sokka's shirt. He smiled at how much she clung to him. He chuckled. "Stop it Suki, you're getting my shirt wet."

Giggling in the dark, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her tight. "It's okay Suki," he murmured. "Whatever Azula did to you... you're alright now."

At Azula's name, the girl buried her face in the crook of Sokka's neck. Sokka stroked her hair. "It's okay Suki. I won't let her hurt you ever again."

From his shoulder, she said, "I'm sorry Sokka." It was a thin little girl's voice he heard, like the voice of a girl choked up with fear. "It was all my fault."

"Shut up Suki. It wasn't your fault. Azula took you away from me, but you're here now. You're safe, with me."

"I'm really scared. What if she finds out where I've gone?"

"She won't. We'll escape. Together"

"But what if we don't?"

"Don't talk like that. We will."

"What if she takes me away again?"

There was a moment of silence. Sokka held her tighter. "I won't let her."

"We're not strong enough."

"Haven't you ever fought for something you really cared about? You'd be surprised what you can do. Haven't you ever felt that?"

"No," she admitted in the darkness,"I don't think I've ever felt that strongly."

"What about me? Haven't you felt that way about me?"

She didn't answer. "Sokka," she finally said, "what if I'm not who I say- or who you think- I am?"

Sokka felt a hole in his chest. Could she be admitting to a betrayal? "You're my Suki. What else could you be?"

"Would you still feel that way for me- me. Even if-"

"Even if what?" he asked gently.

"Promise me."

"You're my Suki," he reminded her. "Nothing'll ever change that."

She sighed. "Then I guess I'll settle for that."

.:Another Section of the Storerooms:.

She was drowning. She was drowning and she was going to die. The cold black water pushed her down to the floor, so that she was on her knees at the mercy of the water.

_I'm going to die_, she realized dimly_. I'm going to die and Sokka's going to die, and it'll be all my fault. And it'll be because I can't swim_. A lump rose in her throat.

Eyes closed, she felt herself give up. She was going to drown, alone in a flooded prison. When Azula finally felt like killing Suki off, they'd have to fish Suki's body out of the water. Azula would get what she wanted. Panic rose in Suki's throat. She opened her mouth to scream but instead felt more water flood in.

_Why_? She demanded as she thrashed about under the water_. Why am I giving up so quickly? I need to fight. I'm a fighter, not a damsel in distress, no matter what that Sokka thinks. I don't need to be rescued, not by him or anyone else. I don't want to be rescued! _

A memory broke the surface of her thoughts. She was swimming in the memory, swimming someone to shore. A little girl. A little blind girl. She remembered her destination in that memory. Sokka. Sokka was waiting at the shore.

_So. It's really true. Azula did take everything away from me. But what am I doing, sitting here drowning? I can swim. Heck, I can swim in full armor, whatever armor that was. I don't need anyone's help._

Suki broke the surface, gasping for breath. Standing in cold, salty, chin-deep water, she looked up at the guard who had pushed her in. He stood at the top of a set of half-submerged stairs. He looked just as uncomfortable as she did. Scratching his head, he said, "Now that ain't right. Locked up is one thing, but half-drowned is another. They better not be paying me to kill a poor kid."

"You could let me go," said Suki hopefully, ready to try anything.

"That wouldn't do, miss. I've got a family to feed and a job to keep. But leaving young girls to drown isn't right, no matter what that bloodthirsty princess says."

"You have a family. What's that like?" she asked, hoping to appeal to his better nature.

"Don't you have one?" he asked curiously.

Suki bravely raised her chin. "Azula took that away from me."

"Sorry she's done that to you. Ain't my problem though."

Suki closed her eyes. "I guess it's not," she admitted.

The guard regarded her curiously. "Well, my wife Nessa would kill me if I told her I left a poor kid to die when she asks me how work went." He tossed her a small, brass key. "Lock the door on your way out," he advised. He left muttering, "I've got to get a new job."

Suki smiled at the key she cupped in her hand. It was good to know that some of the Fire ation still had morals. She waded to the stairs and left her former prison.

Locking the door behind her, she glanced down the hallway. No guards. She needed to find Sokka and from what Mai had said, he was down here too. She tried a few doors. All open with no one inside.

Suki turned a corner and found one last door left ajar. She gently pushed it open, hoping it wouldn't creak.

Sokka quickly stood up as the door opened. He pushed his companion behind him, so that he could defend her from anything, even Azula.

Suki stood in the open doorway, sopping wet. And Sokka, very confused, looked down at his earlier prisoner, the person he had presumed to be Suki.


	5. Part 5, Consequence

**Forgotten Words Part 5, Consequence**

An Avatar Fan Fiction

_by Elle Kitty_

_**"**Sokka, It's been really great to see you again."_

_"Whoa, hold on. Why does it sound as if you're saying goodbye?"_

_**"**I came along because I wanted to make sure you got through the Serpent's Pass safely."_

_**"**So you came along to protect me?"‌ _

_"Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. We were talking, and saying things, I just got carried away and before I knew it I…!"_

"I'm sorry," said Suki, looking past Sokka at Ty Lee. "Am I interrupting something?"

Sokka glanced frantically between Suki and Ty Lee. "So you're not..." He pointed at Ty Lee. He pointed at Suki. "And you... Explain," he demanded of Ty Lee.

Ty Lee shook her head. "I'm so sorry Sokka," she whispered.

Suki took a step towards Sokka. "Please tell me that this isn't what it looks like."

"It's not," confirmed Sokka anxiously. "I swear. I didn't know what was going on."

Suki looked at Ty Lee. "I knew you liked him, but-"

Ty Lee hung her head. "Don't be mad at Sokka," she said. "It was my fault."

Suki shot Ty Lee a glance. "Oh, I'm sure you are to blame, but Sokka isn't the innocent party either."

"I thought that she was you," explained Sokka to Suki. "She came in... and it was dark... I didn't think it could have been anyone else. I was worried that_you_ weren't going to show up."

Suki stepped back. "I was coming Sokka," she said, lower lip quivering, disappointed that he seemed to have so little faith in her. "It just took me a little time. And obviously Ty Lee wasn't me," she added a little irritably.

"I know," said Sokka, taking a step closer. "And I'm really sorry. It wasn't all Ty Lee's fault. I should have known that she wasn't you."

Suki privately thought that it was very much both of their fault, but she chose not to say that. Instead, she said, "I don't know how you could have been so confused, considering that Ty Lee and I look nothing alike." She was babbling and she knew it, but couldn't stop herself. She needed to say something. "For starters, I have shorter hair than Ty Lee-"Suki stopped, finally getting a good look at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee stepped into the dim light, brushing her hair away from her face. It was a messy, raggedy cut, and it was very obvious that she had cut it herself. Looking defiantly at Suki's slightly shocked face, she said, "I cut my hair. Is that a problem?"

Suki rubbed her forehead. She took a deep breath, taking the only reasonable option she could see. "I don't know what exactly happened," she began, "but there isn't time to talk about it now. I'm not happy, but we can all explain later. There isn't any time to waste. Azula could be on her way back at any moment." Suki stepped forward and held open the door for Ty Lee and Sokka.

Ty Lee walked past Suki into the hallway. "I'm sorry Suki," she murmured as she walked past. "It was just my only chance to... you know."

Suki sighed. "It's okay Ty Lee. You can explain later."

Ty Lee smiled gratefully and walked on into the hall.

Sokka came next. "I'm glad you believe me," he said, wrapping an old tapestry from the storeroom around Suki's wet shoulders. He put an arm around her waist.

Suki pushed him away and let the cloth pool on the floor at her feet. He stepped back, surprised.

"Who said that I believe you?" said Suki.

"But, you said-"

"I said that you could explain later. I never said that I believed you. I'm not happy, Sokka, but I can't do anything about it right now. So don't be making a move on me until you have a real explanation. An explanation that I can accept."

Suki forced herself to walk determinedly past Sokka, knowing that what she really wanted to do was to take him by the shoulders and make him tell her every single detail about her past.

.:A Party Somewhere on Ember Island:.

Azula looked at the faces around her. Features brightened by the light of the room, they wore happy, if not vacant expressions. Except for Mai. Mai's face betrayed no emotion, good or bad. But Azula was used to the lack of emotion. It was something she had had to learn to tolerate from an early age. Mai was only Mai, after all. And Zuko was a nothing.

Mai rolled her eyes at the dancers on the other side of the room. "So juvenile."

Azula couldn't agree more. In a vain and silly attempt to "revive the old ways", the ditz of a girl hosting the party had wanted dancing. Ridiculous.

"It's a shame that Ty Lee isn't hee," said Azula casually to Mai, "She may have enjoyed this. I wonder why she isn't here."

"Don't worry so much," advised Mai.

"I need to worry. It's silly, being here when I can't trust my friends and there are traitors and the Avatar on the island. I miss the old days, when we were tracking the Avatar, and a friend was a friend and an enemy was an enemy."

No matter how much Azula wanted to say this, she did not let the traitorous words escape her lips. Because it's not what a princess who is in complete and utter control of herself should say. Instead, Azula said nothing, letting her doubts collect in her mind instead of letting them spill out.

"Speaking of people who aren't here," said Mai, "where's Suki?"

Azula smirked. "I had her... taken care of," she explained in a smug voice.

"Oh," said Mai, feigning boredom.

Azula waited for Mai to say something else in response. A response didn't come. So, to fill the silence, Azula said, "It's just as you wanted Mai. She knows who she is now, so we can put her back where she belongs."

"How convenient," said Mai distastefully. "So there's no use for her?"

"None," confirmed Azula triumphantly. "Thankfully. She was beginning to bore me. You almost never had to worry about her betraying, since the Dai Li never fail."

Mai rolled her eyes. "You brought the Dai Li into this mess?" she complained.

"I most certainly did, and they're here on the island. I trust them so much more than the usual run-of-the-mill guards."

"You don't trust anyone."

"I trust you, Mai. I trusted- trust Ty Lee. I trust my father. I never trusted Zuko, never trusted Iroh, never trusted Long Feng, and I certainly never trusted Suki. My trust is exclusive. You're lucky to have it."

"Oh so lucky," Mai muttered under her breath, but Azula didn't hear. Louder, Mai asked, "What did you do with Suki anyway?"

"Why the sudden interest Mai? If I didn't know better, I would have the misplaced thought that you actually felt sorry for her," Azula raised her eyebrows. "I do hope it is misplaced."

"I don't know why you'd even consider the idea."

"I never said that I thought you-"

"Good thing you didn't."

The girls locked eyes and Azula began to doubt her own power over Mai. The unspoken thought went between them: _I love Zuko more than I fear you_. But it remained unspoken.

Azula looked away. "I never doubted you for a moment, Mai," she said smoothly, moving to depart into the crowd.

"I know where my loyalty lies," retorted Mai.

Azula paused. "I hope you do," she said evenly, finally leaving.

Azula's gaze passed over the crowd, taking in all of the bright lights, the happy party-goers, seeing everything she deemed important. However, she overlooked one dark figure in the bright crowd. He stood at the back, leaning against the red painted wall, seeming to be oblivious to the people around him. Azula could not see his face and she did not try. He was a nobody; he was a nothing. As she turned away, she did not see him raise his head, she did not see him lift his hood ever so slightly. She didn't see his satisfied smile; she didn't see his scar.

.:Zuko's Perspective:.

So they're here after all. Good. I was beginning to worry that they'd left the island. But it seems that Azula won't give up a vacation easily. Surprising.

I watch Azula walk through the crowd. She's always been so confident, so prepared. She always has her next move prepared in advance. She never has any reason that could make her stumble. I want to be that reason. I, Zuko, want to be that one thing she thinks she can control, but she can't.

But I'm not paying too much attention to my sister. I already know what she's thinking. Surprising, isn't it? Like I said, she confident, fearless. She thinks that she's untouchable. But I don't care. For once, my thoughts aren't on our sibling rivalry or my messed up family. I'm not worried about my honor. I'm not even thinking about Sokka and a rescue. No, I'm not thinking about those things. And it's all the fault of that tall, dark-haired girl that usually walks in Azula's shadow.

I miss her. For the thousandth time, I wish I had asked her to come with me. But I didn't ask and she didn't offer. And I didn't want her to get caught up in this mess. I don't want her to be branded a traitor. I understand why Sokka was so ashamed of dragging Suki into the war. I don't want anything like what has happened to Suki to happen to Mai.

But unlike Sokka, I have the conflict of being in love with two women at the same time. At least I'm attracted to both of them.

I catch sight of Mai as she walks towards the exit. I know that it leads to the beach. It's obvious that she has every intention of leaving. And now that it's obvious that Azula's no where near Sokka or Suki, it's time to go. But not before I have a chance to set things straight with Mai. But I'm not thinking about Mai. I'm thinking about someone else.

For a moment, it's as if she's here beside me. Not Mai, but her. The thought of her, her deep blue eyes, small smile, brown hair, it's intoxicating. I remember her, as she was last night, when a chance encounter brought us so close, and yet so far away. I remember her as she was, earlier this day, too close. And I had to be the one that stepped away. Far away. As far as I could. Because I don't want to hurt her the way I hurt Mai. The way Sokka hurt Suki. She hadn't wanted me to leave, but I did and I hate myself for it. I've lost my honor again and again. This time it's because I was too afraid to stick around.

I don't want to lose her.

I now realize that by running away like that, and if I return, bringing Mai along, I risk losing Katara. And while I feel guilty about Mai, I can't hurt Katara. And so I have a double-edged sword. If I fix things with Mai and bring her back with us, Katara will feel betrayed. And if I ignore Mai and yet she knows I'm here, she'll never forgive me. I don't know what to do. But I have to try.

I follow Mai out onto the beach, not because I want to return to what we were, but so that I can set things somewhat right. I can't make both Mai and Katara happy, but I have to try. I have a score to settle with both Katara and Mai. Katara will have to wait a little longer. Because I mean to settle that score with Mai now.

.:The Beach:.

Mai didn't turn around, but she knew Zuko was there. She chose to ignore him for a moment, to let the knowledge that she hadn't forgiven him sink into his ego. That she'd never forgive him.

She heard him walk across the sand to her. She held her breath, waiting for him to make the first move. She'd been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Do you remember when we were here last?" she heard him say. "When we were together?"

"We're not together anymore."

"I know."

She turned to face him. Her heart leapt, but she took care not to show it. "What do you want Zuko?"

"I want to apologize. And to tell you that you're not safe here. Azula will be on the look out for any sign of disloyalty. She'll throw you away on a whim."

"As if you didn't."

"Didn't what?"

"Didn't throw me away on a whim."

There was silence for a moment. It took a long time for Zuko to answer. Finally, he only said, "Mai-"

"I thought I knew you Zuko."

"You did-"

"No."

"Mai, I know you don't think that I'm a-"

"That you're a traitor? You were always one. You were just good at hiding it from me." She turned away. "I used to know you so well. Obviously, I was mistaken."

"Mai, you're not right-"

"I know what's right, Zuko! Even if you don't. What kind of man are you, to run away like that, to leave me behind? I've figured this one out! On my own."

Zuko looked away. "I never tried to hide anything from you Mai."

"So it was unintentional?" Mai snapped. "You didn't mean to hurt me? You didn't know?" She sounded shrill to her own ears, but she couldn't help it. "You didn't know that you were going to rip my heart out when you wrote that letter? It would have been kinder to look me in the face!"

"Mai-"

"You shouldn't be here, Zuko."

They stared at each other for a long moment. "Mai," Zuko said quietly, "please don't let this turn into something that it's not."

"It's everything, Zuko."

"I'm sorry. I can't be as sorry as you think I should, but I'm sorry."

"Be a little sorrier, Zuko."

"I know what I did was wrong-"

"You'd better."

Zuko turned away for a moment. "I tried to make this last for as long as I could, but that was a mistake. But we've gotten through worse, haven't we?" He turned back to her. "What's so different this time?"

"Everything! It's so much more than just your last mistake!"

"Then I think, for both our sakes, that we should spend some time apart."

Another long moment passed between them. Then Mai finally said, "Fine."

"Where is Azula keeping Sokka?"

Mai laughed bitterly. "I should I known that you wouldn't come here just for me. But why should I tell you?"

"Because you still care about me, whether you want to or not."

"Who said I do?"

"Who said you don't?"

"Azula's right about you. You were always a traitor. I just didn't see it."

"Azula has her own agenda. Your emotional welfare isn't her concern. She lies to you, whether you believe it or not. It serves her purpose. It always does."

"Does lying serve your purpose?"

"Where I end up is more important than how I get there. So, yes, sometimes."

"So you plan to leave a path of destruction in your wake?"

Zuko flinched, remembering what had happened as he had traveled the Earth Kingdom alone. "No. I don't mean to. I don't leave loose ends."

"No loose ends? No consequences?"

"I'll try not to leave those consequences. If I fail, I'll-"

"If you fail? You've already failed! I'm your consequence!" Mai walked angrily away down the beach, leaving Zuko behind.

.:Outside Azula's Beach house:.

Suki put a hand upon the gnarly knob of an old elm tree. Breathing deeply, she tried to control her frustration. She reminded herself that hitting Sokka wouldn't do any good and that she needed to be patient. She could yell at him later.

She watched as he kicked a stone. He had been this way ever since she had refused and rebuked his affections in the storeroom. It was so confusing! One moment he was surly and rebellious, questioning her every move, obvious in his distrust of her; the next moment he treated her as a fragile, precious thing. Something that could easily be broken unless he protected her with his life. And then another moment he would ignore her completely, and then the next try to embrace and care for her! Suki decided that she needed to be patient. He was probably just as confused as she. If only he could get over his confusion!

"What are we looking for anyway?" Sokka suddenly snapped. "Because whatever it is, we should leave without it! We don't have time for this."

"I need to bring something with me," argued Suki. "I don't want to forget what I've been through. And there's something very important in the bag I threw out here. Something that I refuse to leave without." After all, her tarnished gold headpiece might be the only proof of her identity that she had. And Sokka looked as if he needed some proof.

"It's got to be around here somewhere," said Ty Lee, brushing a leaf from her sleeve. "You couldn't have thrown it too far from that window. With any luck, we'll find it soon."

"You still haven't explained what it is that's so important," complained Sokka, flipping a fan into the air and catching it in the palm of his hand. He tucked the fan into his belt and then crossed his arms. "We should go."

"You can go," pointed out Suki. "You haven't been much of a help. If I'm so important to you that you need to come all the way over here to 'rescue me', you could help me by finding this bag."

"I don't know if I can trust you! I mean, one moment, you act as if you know me, and then the next, I'm like a stranger. What is wrong with you Suki!"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?!"

"Stop fighting!" said Ty Lee, rubbing her forehead. "I thought that Mai and Zuko were bad, but you guys are worse!" She stuck her hand into a bush. After a moment, she yelled out, "Found your bag, Suki!"

"So now we get to see what's so important about this bag," grumbled Sokka.

Suki took the bag from Ty Lee. "Great job Ty Lee. Now, let's get-"

Ty Lee held a finger to her lips and pointed in the direction of the beach. "Shh. Someone's coming."

"Azula," breathed Suki in fear.

Ty Lee flipped lightly over a low garden wall, presumably to crouch behind it. Sokka dove into the bushes. Out of a lack of a better place to hide, Suki followed Sokka.

"It'll be okay, Suki," Sokka said to her, taking her hand gently. "I'll protect you."

"I can protect myself. But thanks anyways. And thanks for-"

"And thanks for what?"

Suki whispered. "Caring."

"I know that you can take care of yourself. But I don't want to lose you, whether you're lying about being Suki or not. Whether you're a spy or not. I don't want to lose you."

"Why do I feel as if we've had this conversation before?"

Sokka was silent for a moment. "Because we have."

He looked at her, watching the glint of moonlight playing upon her pale face. "Who are-"

"Mai!" They heard Ty Lee shriek gleefully. Brushing a branch out of her vision, Suki watched as Ty Lee wrapped an arm around Mai and glanced in their direction nervously.

"Can we trust her?" Sokka muttered.

"Which one?"

"Mai."

Suki gave a little smile. "She helped me find you."

Still muttering, Sokka climbed out of the bush and helped Suki out too. Mai looked up. "I see that you managed to escape."

Sokka gritted his teeth. "Are you going to tell Azula?" he growled. "Is this a set-up?"

"Hardly," snapped Mai. She looked at Ty Lee. "Why aren't you with Azula?"

Ty Lee wiped her sleeve across her face. "If I go back, she'll get rid of me. I know it."

"Probably," agreed Mai. "Whatever you did, it didn't make her happy with you. She's now suspicious of everyone."

"Even if she suspects you, we can't trust you," said Sokka sullenly.

Suki pushed past Sokka. "Ignore him. Sometimes he just has to act clueless, don't you Sokka?" she said sharply. "These people are our friends. You can trust them just a little bit, you know."

"I don't see why I should," he grumbled, but the girls chose to ignore that.

Ty Lee looked at Mai and gasped. "Mai, you're make-up is all smeared," she chided, reaching out a hand to try and fix the damage.

Mai brushed Ty Lee's hand away. "Don't bother," she mumbled.

Suki looked closely at Mai's face. Had she been…crying? She looked down at the hem of Mai's skirt and saw that it was encrusted with dirt. "Mai," said Suki quietly, "did you walk all the way back here?"

Mai shrugged. "It wasn't too long of a walk. And the moonlight's so nice tonight and-"

"-And you ran into someone, didn't you?" Suki finished. "Azula?"

Wordlessly, Mai shook her head.

"The Avatar and his friends?" Ty Lee guessed.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" said Sokka defensively. "We are the Boomeraang gang, thank you very much!"

Suki waved him aside. Thinking hard, she wondered who could have put Mai into such a state that she would walk all the way home, crying even. "Zuko," she finally said.

Mai buried her face in her hands. Ty Lee gasped. "It was him, wasn't it? You went looking for him, didn't you?" she accused.

Suki put an arm around Mai's shoulders. "Mai wouldn't do that. You ran into him, right? Accidentally, right?"

Mai glared at Suki. "On my part, maybe. It was hardly accidental on his," she snapped, wiping smeared make-up off of her face. "He followed me out of the party- and we- we got into a fight."

"Did he- did anything happen?" asked Ty Lee timidly. Suki, following Ty Lee's chain of thought, held her breath for Mai's response.

Mai waved her hand as if to brush the very thought away. "No. Zu- he wouldn't do that." It was as if the very name of Zuko was painful. "I just said- some things that I wish I hadn't said. Maybe if I had- but it's too late for that." She said this more to herself than to either Ty Lee or Suki.

"Oh," said Ty Lee softly.

Mai looked up at Suki. "You need to get out of here," she said in her usual calm way, getting up and brushing the dust from her skirt. "You, Ty Lee, and your boyfriend. Now."

"My name is Sokka, not 'her boyfriend'," snapped Sokka crossly.

Mai ignored him. "You need to leave. Now," she repeated as she walked away from them, across the garden, and into the gathering mist.

Silent, Ty Lee handed Suki the bag. Sokka coughed. "Time to go?" he asked.

Suki nodded and turned, but Sokka put a hand on her shoulder. "You dropped something," he said, handing her a cloth-wrapped bundle.

Wondering what it could be, Suki quickly unwrapped it. Looking down at the gold headpiece in her hand, she said to Sokka, "Now do you believe me?"

Sokka stared at it for a long moment. Then, abruptly, he snatched it from her hand and started to walk away. Suki caught his shoulder. "That's mine," she said, feeling childish. "Give it back. You have your proof; now hand it over."

Sokka shook her off. "This isn't yours. This belongs to Suki."

"I am Suki! Why can't you believe that?"

Sokka took something from his belt and tossed it into a bush. "I don't know what to believe." He started to walk away again, disappearing into the mist.

Suki stood silent and stiff for a very long time, watching his shadow disappear. "Fine," she uttered bitterly, turning and walking in the opposite direction, willing herself not to collapse into angry sobs. She still had her dignity, after all.

Ty Lee watched as both walked away and then fished the object that Sokka had tossed away out of the bush. It lay in her hand: a fan.

…

A/N: This is definitely the shortest of my chapters, but I wanted the chapter to be out. Especially after such a long wait for Part 4. Please, please, please, please review! I know that people are reading this, since I check the Reader Traffic, and I know that you people aren't reviewing!! This makes me very sad. Review if you liked it, if you LOVED it, and even if you think it needs some work. I love taking suggestions, so feel free to post one. -EK


	6. Part 6, Awake

**Forgotten Words Part 6, Awake  
by Elle Kitty**

_"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come."_

"I do. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Nothing. I'm glad you're coming."

But he had not wanted her to get caught up in this dangerous war. He had not wanted her to end up like that other girl that he had cared about.

Sokka stopped staring at his feet as he trudged along the small beaten path trough the outskirts of the forest and instead glanced back at Ty Lee. She had followed him as he had walked along the edge of the forest, trying to locate where he and Zuko had decided to hide the war balloon. It should be the place where they were supposed to regroup if anything were to happen. He hoped that Zuko and the others had had the sense to retreat into the forest when they realized his capture. He hoped that they had moved out of the place and relocated to the clearing. Hopefully, they had.

"Are we almost there?" asked Ty Lee from behind him, a hint of complaint lingering in her voice. No words had passed between them since they had left Suki, and now her voice sounded strange as it broke the silence. "It feels as though we've walked for ages."

"It hasn't been that long," replied Sokka with a roll of his eyes.

"But my feet are killing me!" she grumbled.

Sokka shook his head and continued walking. If only he had listened to Toph. Talking to her might have provided the distraction that he would have needed. He would never have seen this Suki, or this Suki look-a-like, and therefore wouldn't be in this mess, stuck with a sullen Ty Lee, with hardly a clue of where his friends might be. But, he couldn't help but wonder, what had she been trying to tell him? There hadn't been any real threat at the party that they hadn't already known about or predicted except for... Suki? Had Toph realized Suki's strange presence and had tried to warn him before it was too late? If so, then how could he have been so stupid? Oh well, he had been stupid... and may have either recognized the most devastating lie that he had ever been told, or had been dealt a blow that he could have never thought himself to be able to deal with.

Behind me, Ty Lee glanced around. "What if this is some kind of trap?" she asked. "Azula could be waiting for us."

"Or the clearing could be full to the brim with Fire Nation soldiers," Sokka muttered.

Ty Lee shook her head. "Azula despises regular Fire Nation soldiers. Always has, always will. But she had to deal with them for a long time. That is, until she went to Ba Sing Se-"

"And met the Dai Li," Sokka finished, trying his best not to sound scared. He had known since the Invasion that Azula had brought the Dai Li back to the Fire Nation as a kind of deadly "souvenir" but he wouldn't have expected her to have her Earth Kingdom buddies tagging along with her on vacation. He swallowed, thinking of the various uses of the Dai Li and the tyrannical grip they had once held over Ba Sing Se.

Ty Lee looked at him curiously. "I heard you met them again in the Capital. You shouldn't be so surprised that Azula brought them along, especially with such an important prisoner-" she stopped.

"I'm not surprised," said Sokka crossly, ignoring the latter part of her sentence. "I just would prefer not to run into them, if you don't mind."

Ty Lee, obviously tired of walking on her feet, flipped over into a handstand. Sokka stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. She shrugged. "It's a habit," she explained, "you'll get used to it."

"Not so sure about that," Sokka muttered.

Ty Lee flipped back over, landing on her feet with a twirl. "What do you mean? It's obvious that we're stuck together."

"Not for long," replied Sokka. "You're going to be my ticket off this island. That is, if I can't find Zuko and Katara."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" scoffed Ty Lee, placing a hand on her hip. "Grow wings and fly you away?"

"Well, no," admitted Sokka. "Although, let me know if that's ever a possibility, because that would be a big plus."

"No, come on, how am I going to help you? That is, if I feel like helping you," Ty Lee folded her arms.

"Because," he said, "you need my help as much as I need yours."

"Says who?" snapped Ty Lee. "I could go right back into town and pretend that I disappeared for a breath of fresh air. There'd be no hard feelings. At least, not many."

"Why would I need your help? I know where I'm going. I have a plan."

"Some plan," muttered Ty Lee. "Or was getting captured by Azula a factor that you planned for? But, of course, you had a way out of there, right?"

"Well, you were hardly helpful," objected Sokka. "All you need was come in, an unexpected variable, and messed things up! By the way, why did you come in?"

Ty Lee felt her face burning. "Never mind that. Besides, if it hadn't been for me and-" Ty Lee stopped. Suki's name hovered between them like a taboo, her presence as tangible as a phantom.

"You're right. Never mind what happened back there," Sokka agreed, a degree of suppressed sadness in his voice. "Would the Dai Li obey you, if we ran into them?"

She shrugged. "If Azula hasn't figured out where I've gone, then maybe."

Sokka kicked a tree trunk. "I've fought them before-"

"And failed," Ty Lee couldn't help but snicker.

"-but we could escape this time," finished Sokka irritably, but still putting up a show of ignoring Ty Lee's comment.

"I don't think you know half of the Dai Li's abilities," snapped Ty Lee. "We didn't stage a coup with them for no reason. They can beat you up, kill you, torture you, or- or do other things."

"Well, I'm not a fan of being beaten up, killed, tortured, you get the idea. But what was that last one? What else can they do?"

Ty Lee turned away, resting her hand upon a tree trunk. "It's nothing. Nothing important."

"Well, I should know anyways," argued Sokka. "If we're going to get past them, we need to know everything that we can. So, go on, tell me."

"It's just some Dai Li Earth Bending trick that Azula told me about. You might call it brainwashing. They call it the crystal technique. They preform it on their captives, and... something happens."

"What happens?'

"They- their captives- forget who they are. And they do whatever the Dai tell them to do."

Something clicked in Sokka's brain A semi-forgotten memory woke up. And Sokka woke up too.

"Ty Lee," he said softly, almost casually. "The Dai Li captured a guy named Jet, didn't they? And some lady named Ju Di? Actually, many ladies named Ju Di."

Ty Lee squinted. "Ju who? Jet?"

Sokka waved a hand. "Obviously, you don't know what I'm talking about. So, Azula uses brainwashing on her prisoners, right?" His heart started to pound.

"Yeah... so?" said Ty Lee, a bit unwillingly.

Sokka crossed over to Ty Lee and took her by the shoulders. "Okay, Ty Lee, you need to answer this question, and you can't lie!" Ty Lee shrugged and nodded. Sokka took a deep breath. "Did Azula have the Dai Li brainwash Suki?"

Ty Lee blinked,trying her best to look confused. "I- I don't know," she stumbled in her speech. "I know that we captured her and her warriors. I know that we shipped her back to the Fire Nation and when we got back from Ba Sing Se, Azula took a special interest in her. And then, one day, Azula moved her into a remote room in the palace and then Suki showed up at Azula's side a few days later. I never really understood what exactly happened. Mai knew, but Azula wouldn't trust me with the information."

"Why wouldn't she trust you?"

Ty Lee blushed. "Because- because, she knew that I- liked you," she ended lamely.

But Sokka didn't pay attention to this new inkling of information. His blood ran cold. What they had done to Jet, they had done to Suki. And if Jet had lost his taste for freedom fighting, what could that mean for Suki? Did she still care about him? Could she still care about him? But she had said that she remembered him. What if that was a lie? What if this was all just one big lie designed to fall right on top of Sokka's head?

Sokka realized that Ty Lee was looking at him strangely. Sokka shook his head slowly. "So Azula did brainwash Suki. And that's why she doesn't remember her past. Her real past, not just a couple of lies that Azula fed to her."

Ty Lee raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "You do jump to conclusions, don't you?"

"But I'm right this time!" Sokka exclaimed. He looked down at the gold headdress still in his hand. Holding it up, he added, "This is proof enough that you attacked and captured her, right? And, if you're not lying, Suki made a big change from being Azula's prisoner to Azula's pet." He pronounced the last word with loathing.

"Oh. Yes."

"So, she's not lying! She's really Suki! My Suki. I've got to go tell her that I-" He stopped.

"You left her behind," said Ty Lee, answering Sokka's unanswered question.

Sokka looked at the ground, ashamed of his previous actions. "I did, didn't I?' He looked up again. "Where do you think she is now?"

Flipping her braid over her shoulder, Ty Lee offered, "When she walked away, she walked in the direction that leads into town."

"Do you think that she's going back to Azula?' asked Sokka quietly.

Ty Lee shook her head. "I doubt it."

"Mai?"

"Maybe."

Sokka shook his head. "I was so stupid," he muttered, "but Azula will be heading home soon. And I'll bet that the first thing that she will do is check up on her prisoners. Suki's walking into a trap. A trap that I practically set up for her. We need to stop her from being caught."

She hesitated, and Sokka pulled her arm. "Come on," he urged. "We need to hurry."

"Are you sure that Suki will want to see you? What if she hates you now?"

Sokka paused. "She may. I probably deserve it. But that doesn't mean that I hate her. And I'm going to save her. With or without you."

Ty Lee didn't move.

"Come on. Aren't you friends with Suki anyways?"

"Oh I am," said Ty Lee with a falsely bright smile. But as Sokka turned his back, she glowered. "Best friends, we are such best friends."

.:Ember Island Town Center:.

Suki stumbled almost blindly through the streets of Ember Island. Exhausted from being up all night, then awake all day, and then up almost all night again, she was on the verge of collapse. But she refused to let her eyelids close, not even for one moment. If she did, she feared that she'd collapse on the very streets, dead bait for Azula and her minions. But, as the world around her began to spin as she entered the center of the town, she decided to allow herself a moment's rest.

She staggered towards the well in the center of the square and collapsed against the neatly paved steps. Vision going a little blurry, she cradled her head in her hands, obviously taking more than a moment to rest_. What am I going to do now_? she wondered. "I made a really big mess of things, didn't I" she whispered to herself.

"That depends on what you did?" came a tense voice from behind her. Suki turned and hazily saw another individual sitting on the other side of the well. She hadn't noticed him before; his form had been obstructed by the well that she now leaned her head back against. She peeked a look at the stranger on the other side. She couldn't see his face on account of his back being towards her, but, still curious, she stood up and leaned across the well in order to get a better look. No luck. His entire head was covered by the hood of a dark cloak, but by his voice, Suki could tell that he was not much older than she. The fact that she could not see his face made Suki feel safer. There's a kind of security in anonymity. He turned and looked up at her as Suki leaned over the brim of the well. Under his hood, the stranger's face was cloaked in shadows. "What did you do?" he asked.

Suki felt the heat rise to her face. She pushed back from the well and stood on the steps, directly across from where he sat. "I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, turning away, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.

"Ashamed?"

"Yes. No. Disappointed is more like it. If you know what I mean."

He shrugged. "I can understand that." Then, more softly, he added, "Is that why you're here alone, obviously exhausted, in the middle of the night? Shouldn't you be at some party?"

Suki circled the well and stood in front of him, hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same question."

"You could," he admitted, "but I'd tell you that parties are my sister's thing. Not exactly my forte."

Suki sat down beside him, evidently intrigued by this distraction. "Then what is your 'forte'?"

"Fighting," he smirked. "Yours?"

"I don't know. Probably acting stupid. Or believing other people's lies."

"I've believed my share of lies." He was silent after that.

"So," said Suki, yawning. "Why are you out here?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"I don't know. I need help staying awake, I guess. Tell me."

"I don't think that you want to hear about my problems when you've got your own."

Suki shrugged. "Go ahead. Your problems will take my mind off of my own, and I'd like to hear them. If only to know that I'm not the only one with problems in the world."

He was quiet. The he said softly, "If you really want to hear, I'll tell you. I'd like to talk to someone, probably for the reasons that you just said." He smiled.

"You're not going to see me anytime soon."

"True, very true." He let out a sigh as Suki waited. "I kind of, broke up with someone."

Suki smiled, amused by how juvenile his problems were in comparison to her own. "Did she take it hard?"

"Very. But, she doesn't understand. She never would. It's funny, how she's got her mind wrapped around her little problems when she's never considered the entire world. All she cares about is her hair, and her make-up, and how horrible it is if she even touches anything pink." He took a breath. "All she cares about is her own little world. And she thinks that her little world is boring. I wonder why!"

"I wonder," agreed Suki frankly.

"And she's criticizing me for wanting to make a difference in the world! For wanting to actually do something, and to do what's right!" He stopped, then went on. "I left her in order to follow my destiny. And she'll never forgive me for that."

"What destiny, if you don't mind me asking?"

He laughed a little hollowly. "Does it matter? All I know is that I have to restore peace and balance to the world and I don't know how!"

Suki laughed too, with more feeling than he. "Sounds like you're the Avatar," she teased. She would do anything to get her mind off of Sokka.

He stopped laughing. "The sad thing is, I wasn't kidding," he replied a little darkly. "If you think that my problems are funny, then yours must be hilarious, right? Let's hear them."

Suki had the grace to blush. "Sorry. Personally, I don't know much about my destiny," she confessed. "And I guess that that's part of my problems."

He shrugged. "I thought I was doomed to a life I didn't want. I thought that I had escaped that life... then I came full circle and now I'm back where I started." He waited for Suki's response, but she didn't say anything. "Destiny is a funny thing," he added wryly. "That's what my uncle would say. Besides, what do you think I should do?"

"About what?"

"About... her."

"Well," said Suki, "I'm not sure."

"But, you're a girl," he persisted. "You've got to know something that goes on in her head! What would you do?"

"Well, truth be told, you hurt her. And I'll bet that she feels hurt too. But if she thinks that the world is boring, she'll probably need you back to lighten things up."

"But, the problem is, I'm not going back." He sighed. "There's also, kind of, someone else."

"Oh," said Suki. "Anyone she knows?"

"Kind of."

"Then you better leave your ex alone. Unless you want her to rip out your eyes."

"Let's hear about your problems," he changed the subject.

"I- I was- taken away from someone that I cared about. He came to look for me, rescue me, but I guess that he didn't see what he wanted to see. In the end, it seems that I don't matter much to him. We... misunderstood each other, and we got into a fight that didn't end well, and now I'm here. I guess it's just a relationship that I can't fix," she smiled bitterly. "The worst part is, I can't remember what went wrong in the first place."

"No idea?"

"No clue."

He shrugged. "I can't really help you with that."

"But, you're a guy," Suki teased, turning his words back on him. "You've got to have some idea of what's going on in his head!"

"Do you want my advice, or my uncle's?"

"What's your advice?" asked Suki, suddenly serious.

He shrugged. "Same as me and Ma- my girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend. Go your separate ways."

"And your uncle's?" Suki pressed.

"Maybe he'd say that you should try again," he suggested.

"Maybe," replied Suki drowsily, trying to keep her eyes from closing. "I can't think straight right now," she admitted. "Maybe that's part of the problem."

"Why can't you think straight?"

Suki attempted a smile. "I haven't gotten any sleep in a while," she got up. "I should probably go somewhere safe to catch a few hours. Thanks for the advice, but-"

A strong hand caught her arm. Suki looked back to see a glimpse of the stranger's face before it disappeared into shadows. "Stay here," he suggested. "What safer place than out in the open?"

Suki considered that for a moment, then sat back down. "Don't try anything funny," she instructed with a yawn.

He chuckled. "It's tempting, but I'll try not to." But Suki was already asleep. After a moment's consideration, he pulled off his cloak and draped it across her shoulders like a blanket. He then reached out to brush her pale cheek with his fingers, but quickly stopped himself after a moment's touch. He sat back away from her, not too far, not too close. And they stayed there for a while, a trusting Suki fast asleep, a reluctant Zuko alone with his guilt.

.:Azula's Beach House:.

When Azula returned from the party, she could not honestly say that she was happy. Ty Lee had not bothered to show up, even after Azula expressly asked her, and Mai had gone outside and had not returned. As Azula pushed open her door, she resisted the urge to let her annoyance overwhelm her. Her amber eyes quickly scanned the first room she came to: everything was untouched. Walking across the room, she stopped to examine traces of wet footprints on the hardwood floors. She frowned, and spun around at the sound of footsteps.

Mai stopped in her tracks and looked down, refusing to meet Azula's accusing eyes. In the dark-haired girl's hands were several bags, obviously packed and ready to go. Azula's eyes flickered. It seemed that Mai was planning an escape. "Mai," said Azula, feigning concern. "Whatever is going on? You never returned to the party. Why not?" Her voice dripped with false sympathy.

Mai shrugged. "I dislike parties. Too many people wearing pink. You make me go to far too many."

Azula shook her head, holding up a hand. She knew that when it came to lying, she could not beat Mai. "Let's skip the niceties. I don't feel like playing false. What is the meaning of this?"

"What?" replied Mai blandly.

"What do you think?" When Mai failed to respond, Azula gestured to the bags apathetically.

Mai looked back down "I am... ill," she replied. "I would like to depart for the Capital early."

"Of course. Ty Lee and I will come back with you. And our prisoners, of course."

"I wouldn't want to get between you and a vacation. I've made separate arrangements. I'll go alone, thank you."

"Why leave so soon?"

"I am ill."

"Of what?"

Mai looked up. "Just a cold. Nothing to worry about. I just feel terrible in such a warm climate."

Azula shrugged. "Perhaps the climate in the Earth Kingdom got to you. But I wouldn't have thought that heat would be an issue for someone who likes to play with fire," Azula mildly insulted, none to subtly naming Zuko.

Mai sighed. "Do I have your permission," she mocked ever so slightly.

The princess replied with a wave of her fingertips. "Do as you please," she said dismissively. "Ty Lee can attend me just as well as you can."

Mai stiffened. "I'll be going now."

"Have you made arrangements for a boat? Or do you plan to swim? I can imagine that cold you have will be unpleasant while in the water."

"Arrangements have been made."

"Are you leaving this very minute?"

"Soon."

"Why the rush?"

Mai fiddled with the clasp on her cloak. "My health is failing."

"You're not about to die, are you?" When Azula laughed and Mai did not, Azula muttered, "Such the drama queen."

Mai had to fight to hide a smirk. "Don't worry about me finding a boat; I've already got one. I hope you don't mind my borrowing yours."

Inside, Azula fumed, but reminded herself that frying the daughter of the governor of New Ozai would not so any good. "Why my boat?"

"Oh, you don't mind staying here for another three days or so, do you?" asked Mai with relish. She knew how much Azula wanted to return to the capitol, and she was pleased with the power of making Azula wait a little longer.

"No, I don't mind," replied Azula, surprisingly nonchalant. "Maybe Ty Lee will want to go back to the beach tomorrow. There'll be so many more fish in the sea with that Kyoshi brat gone, if you catch my drift. I do hope that you won't mind Ty Lee and I enlisting a couple more boys beneath our banner. More than you anyway. But then," Azula hesitated ever so slightly, "honorable men were never your type, now were they?"

"Fine by me," answered Mai, ignoring another dig at Zuko with effortless grace. She began to move towards the door.

A thought suddenly occurred to Azula, and at once she acted upon her new suspicion. "Oh, and don't worry Mai," added Azula silkily. "When Ty Lee and I return to the capital, I'll send the family doctor by your parents' townhouse. Just to make sure that you're still around to assist me next month with the management of Ba Sing Se. I'm thinking of a new name; perhaps, 'Oujou Iiya Tame Minzoku Kasai'. A little long, but it gets the point across, doesn't it? Or maybe just 'New Azula'. Your opinion?"

Mai shrugged. "If you think that 'No Death to Fire Nation' is a splendid name, then go right ahead. I fail to see how this concerns me."

Azula waved a hand. "You're right, it doesn't concern you, does it?" she murmured. She looked back up at Mai. "Chou-san, our family doctor, will be at your home when you arrive. I'll send a messenger hawk ahead to let him know."

Mai smiled almost sadly. "Send all the spies you want, Azula. You'll know where I'll be." Mai walked past Azula and out the door, where a paladin was waiting for her. The dark-haired girl entered the paladin and sat down, looking back at Azula one last time before saying a work to the paladin bearers and departing into the night. Azula stepped outside to watch Mai's departure and then returned to the brightly lit interior of the beach house. "Ty Lee," she called. She could not help but feel a little desperate for company. "Ty Lee, are you still here?"

No answer. Azula shrugged, deciding that Ty Lee must either be asleep or have departed for a party of her own. She sighed and decided to go and visit her prisoners. She walked briskly down the steps into a hallway lined with doors. She paced down past the initial doors and turned a corner, going to the store room that she knew to be Sokka's prison. _Where are the guards? _thought Azula furiously as she continued down another few steps. Looking down, her amber eyes traced a trail of slender wet footprints. She followed them to Sokka's prison, eyes narrowing as she went. Her feet stepped on something soft and wet; she looked down at a soaking wet tapestry lying on the wooden floor. Azula swore and ran to the door of Sokka's prison, throwing the unlatched door open as she went, illuminating the dark room with fire in her palm. Sokka wasn't to be seen.

Azula fumed as she retraced her steps and ran to Suki's prison. Sure enough, the wet footprints began at the door. She kicked the door down and stared into the flooded room, fury in her eyes. No Suki either. Azula hurried back upstairs at a sprint, up to Ty Lee's chambers. She threw open the door and brushed aside the bed curtains. Ty Lee was missing.

"Why that ungrateful, little sneak," Azula muttered, crossing the room back to Ty Lee dressing table. Her eyes quickly picked up on a long braid, half concealed under the dressing table. A pair of scissors lay across the floor beside the braid. Azula turned her back, incensed, and stormed out of the room, running through the hall and out into the streets. She didn't know what had happened, but, one way or another, she was going to find out.

.:Forest outside of Ember Island Town:.

Not far away from the sole town of Ember Island, in a small clearing in the forest, the youngest waterbending master, the self-proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world, and the last airbender of his kind, also the avatar, waited anxiously for the return of the heir to the Fire Nation. But no one was more worried for Zuko than Katara, and while the waterbender did her best to not portray her thoughts by painting them on her face, nothing could cease the thudding feeling in her heart. After pacing about the clearing for several minutes, Toph plopped down onto the forest floor and sighed while Katara and Aang leaned up against the basket of the war balloon. "Katara, I'm bored," said Toph, wiggling her toes. "Can't we go into town and look for Sokka and Zuko or something?"

"You know that we can't," replied Katara, folding her arms and stealing a sideways glance at the Avatar. "They could be back any moment now, and we have to be ready."

"But what if they're not coming back? Can't we go and look for them? Just a little?"

Katara glanced at Aang. The Avatar shook his head. "I don't want any of us to end up captured by Azula," Aang stated firmly. "We all need to stay out of sight."

Toph began to grumble under her breath and Katara fought down a yawn. Aang continued, "We can't let anything like what happened to Sokka to happen to us."

"So we should just let Zuko go off and do what he likes, while we sit and die of boredom? Azula would be kinder," she added, muttering.

Katara shrugged. "If Zuko wants to go play hero and leave us behind, I see no reason to stop him. Hasn't he caused enough trouble already? And, besides, if he really is stupid enough to chase Azula, he'll just get himself killed. I still see no reason to care."

"I _feel _plenty of reasons why you care," muttered Toph, but only Momo and Appa heard her.

Aang sighed upon hearing the heavy note of venom in Katara's voice. "Katara, we all know you're worried about Sokka. We all are. You don't need to take it out on Zuko. Especially when he's not even here."

"Take it out? Take it out! You're right, how can I take out my anger on someone who's not even here!" Katara snapped shrilly. She looked down at her leather shoes. "He couldn't even bother to stick around."

Toph sighed. "Sokka's going to be okay, and Zuko is going to come back. You'll see. Neither of them are exactly brilliant, but they're not stupid either."

"Yeah Katara," said Aang, "have a little faith."

Katara winced, but didn't reply. Meanwhile, Toph slowly shook her head. "I tried to tell Sokka, you know," she whispered.

"Tell Sokka what?" asked Aang.

"Nothing; only that his 'warrior's wolf-tail' was a ponytail," retorted Toph sarcastically.

Aang rolled his eyes and announced, "I'm going to go and find food for Appa. It's getting really late and I'm getting tired of waiting up for Zuko and Sokka. Once I get this food, I'm going to sleep," he threw over his shoulder as he left the clearing, Momo following.

"We'll keep that in mind, Twinkletoes," Toph called back to him.

As Aang left, Katara turned back to Toph. "What did you try and tell Sokka?"

Toph casually examined her toenails. "Whaddaya mean?"

"I know there's something that you know, that you don't want me to know, that you won't tell Aang either."

"And what gives you that idea, Sugar Queen?"

"I can put two and two togther. And two can play at that game, - uh, Toddler Toph?"

Toph sniggered at Katara's apparent deficiency at insults. Deliberately drawing out every word slowly, she asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes," Katara breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really, really?"

"Yes.."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Quite sure?"

"Yes, Toph, get on with it!"

"Well, I was trying to tell him about you and Zuko, but..."

"What!" Katara heard herself shriek.

"But, I wasn't sure then," Toph half-smiled. "But I am sure now."

Calming down, Katara narrowed her icy blue eyes. "Who told you?"

"No one really. Oh, well, actually, you just did."

"What do you mean? There's nothing between me and Zuko! Nothing at all!"

"Just admit it," Toph taunted, adopting a sing-song manner. "Your heart-rate already has. What about your mouth?"

Katara flushed. She knew when she was beaten. "Could you really tell?" she asked quietly.

Toph shrugged. "You did a pretty good job of hiding it," she said matter-of-factly. "Twinkle Toes and Antsy Pants don't have a clue."

"How do you know? Couldn't they have figured it out?"

"Well... Antsy Pants has been busy with his self-pity and angst over his girlfriend; I don't think he's even stopped to think about where his little sister's eyes travel everytime she walks into a room that Sparky's in, and Twinkle Toes- Aang- he's different."

"What do you mean?"

Toph adopted a swooning voice. "Oh, he's just so blinded by love for you that he doesn't see anything anymore. In his love-struck eyes, you possess no faults."

Katara glanced away gultily. "So, they have no idea?"

"Yep."

"Let's make sure that it stays that way," replied Katara with fervor. "Was that really what you were trying to tell Sokka?"

"No," Toph admitted. "I was just curious as to whether or not you and Zuko were an 'item'." She made little quotation marks in the air. "What I'm telling Sokka, I'm only telling Sokka."

Katara shook her head. "Me and Zuko... we're nothing. And besides, Zuko is not the problem- yet. We need to find Sokka."

"It's interesting to feel how your heart beats faster whenever you say Zuko than whenever you say anything else."

"Toph! That's quite enough!"

"Sure thing... Mrs. Sparky."

"Toph, please can we get back on-"

"Hmm," Toph tapped her chin, ignoring Katara's outrage. "I wonder how you'll like have Ozai as an in-law."

"Stop it, or- or-"

"Or what, Mrs. Sparky?"

"Or you won't exactly fufill your dreams of becoming 'Mrs. Sokka." Katara smiled with pride at the barb in her voice.

Toph's jaw dropped. "Mrs. Sokka?" she repeated incredulously.

Katara nodded triumphantly. "We all know you like Sokka-"

"Who's 'we'? Not Sokka, I presume. Besides, I do NOT like him!"

"Just admit it," Katara replied, adopting the same sing-song tone that Toph had used on her. Changing back to her usual voice, she continued, "Look, I'm on your side. Just like you're on mine, right?" When Toph didn't answer, she went on, "I know you like him, and I think that, if you made a little effort, he could like you. Personally, I don't think that any relationship between Sokka and Suki is a good thing-"

"Because you never liked Suki to begin with."

"-and we have no idea whether or not Suki is even- around." Katara sighed. "If you can get Sokka to give up on Suki, I, as his sister, will support any relationship between you and he."

Toph smiled despite herself. "I should call you Sparky's Sugar Queen. You're getting sneaky. I like it. Now, let's go get Sparky and Antsy Pants, shall we?"

Katara heard a finger to her lips. Together, Katara and Toph listened as Aang fed Appa and then climbed up into the saddle. They waited in silence for a few more minutes until the sound of Aang's snoring was unmistakable. Then, they continued speaking, this time more quietly. "It's a good thing that Aang can't hear us," remarked Katara.

"Yes," Toph agreed. "Especially since we'll be taking off soon."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. We're going after Sparky and Antsy Pants, right Katara?"

She looked up at where Aang slept in Appa's saddle. "I don't like leaving him along," she murmured.

Toph got up to wait at the edge of the clearing, tapping her feet. "Aang can take care of himself. You know that. And, besides, who's in trouble? Aang? I don't think so."

"I know," replied Katara. "I just don't like it."

"I know," replied Toph as they disappeared into the shadow of the forest. "I don't like it either. But it's all we got."

.:Ember Island Town Center:.

"I've got nothing," said Sokka to Ty Lee as they walked into the square. "I don't know where Suki is, I don't know where Azula is, heck, I don't even know where we are!" As he sat on the street curb, slightly crumpled, he asked Ty Lee, "You got anything?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the one with all the plans?"

"Aren't you the one with the exclusive membership to the crazy, psycho Fire Nation trio?! Couldn't you have learned something from Azula about tracking people down?"

"Didn't you learn anything from being tracked?" shot back Ty Lee.

"Don't you know the way to Azula's place?"

Ty Lee shook her head. "No," she admitted. "Azula arranged for us all to travel by paladin; we never got a good chance to really take a look around town. Paladins to the beach, to parties, even out to lunch. Azula made us all look like royalty."

"Suki too?"

"Suki too."

Sokka looked at his hands. "Maybe Suki doesn't known her way around town either."

"Probably."

"Well, I think that-"

Ty Lee yawned. Loudly. "How can you think? It's the middle of the night!"

"Some one has to get us through this!" snapped Sokka loudly.

"Sokka?" someone asked from behind the well at the square's center.

Sokka stepped forward, instinctively pushing Ty Lee behind him. "Who's there?" he asked, sounding braver than he felt and all the while prepared to grab Ty Lee and run. "Show yourself."

"It's Zuko." A dark figure unfolded itself from the shadow behind the well and discreetly coughed, incling his head in Sokka's direction. "I heard you talking. Who's with you? Katara?" A note of shamed hope lingered in the way he said her name. Then, more doubtfully, he asked, "Suki?"

Sokka shook his head. "Ty Lee," he corrected, motioning for her to step forward into the moon's pale light. She did so, slightly bashful, one hand curled into a ball at her waist, the other tucking a strand of her newly cut hair behind her ear, Together, she and Sokka approached where Zuko sat by the well.

As Sokka came closer, Zuko turned his critical eye to him. "What's she doing here?' he demanded. "We don't need casualties."

Ty Lee scowled. "The only real casualty is Mai! Zuko, what did you do to her?"

Face hardening, Zuko spread his hands. "I did nothing. As always, I do nothing."

Impatient, Sokka brushed this aside. "Can we move on? Suki took off without us. We need to find her. Again."

Raising his eyebrow, Zuko asked, "Again? You already found her once?" His tone indicated disbelief.

Sokka flushed. "Yeah, sort of. Anyway, no details necessary, we need to find her before Azula does. Really, there's no time to explain. We need to move. Now!"

Ty Lee giggled. Sokka turned to her. "What's so funny?"

"I've got to hand it to you, Zuko, it looks like you have gotten over Mai." Laughing despite herself, she pointed to the sleeping form beside Zuko, covered by a cloak, but breathing very regularly.

Zuko reddened. "Oh. That's nothing."

"Doesn't look like-"

"Why are you out here again?" asked Sokka to Zuko, cutting Ty Lee off.

"I didn't say. It was to find you so that we could get out of here and really find your Suki. But, it looks like things have gotten more complicated. Now, tell me, how exactly did you find, then lose, Suki and pick up this liability?"

"I am NOT a liability!" Ty Lee hissed.

Zuko shrugged as Sokka fought to hide a smile. "Like I said," Sokka added, "there's no time to explain."

"If there's no time to explain," muttered Ty Lee. "How is there time to call people 'liabilities'?"

"Oh, there's always plenty of time for that," replied Zuko with a grin.

Sokka shook his head. "No, not really. Zuko, you;ve ... been coming here for a while, right? If Suki were to come back to town, looking for a place to hide, where wuld she go?"

Zuko shrugged. "She'd pass through here, one way or another."

"And if Azula caught her? What then?"

"Then don't bother looking for her. Unless you have your heart set on recovering her corpse."

Sokka flinched at Zuko's bluntness. He turned to Ty Lee, face daring her to agree. Ty Lee slowly nodded, answering his unspoken question, averting her eyes from his worried face. He took a deep breath, turning back to Zuko. "You know the way to Azula's place?"

Slowly, he nodded.

"Let's go."

But before they could move an inch, a crash was heard from an adjourning street. Blue lightning lit up the sky. And Sokka felt that his worst fears had been confirmed, that he had been so close only to lose Suki once last time.

A/N: One more cliffhanger. Thanks for holding out for the new chapter readers! I really appreciate it. But now it's time to show your appreciation and confirm that you're all not just some phantom viruses filling up my Reader Traffic. REVIEW!!! Some of you have been extraordinarily faithful (Y'all know who you are ;)), but some of you don't leave reviews :(. So, please, do so IF ONLY TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU ARE HERE. Alrighty, one more chapter to go!


	7. Part Seven, Ultimatum

**Forgotten Words Part Seven: Ultimatum**

_An Avatar Fan Fiction by Elle Kitty_

A/N: Alrighty. Thanks for the wait, if any of you are still reading since y'all didn't leave reviews _for the most part_. However, I have been checking Reader Traffic and I'm really excited to see how many people _are_ reading, even if you're not reviewing. I was really excited to see that people as far away as_ Singapore__!_ are reading my fan fiction. So, big thank you to all of my readers, especially since this is going to be the second-to-last chapter of _Forgotten Words_. I did my best with the fight scene (when I've never written a fight scene in my life); keep that in mind while reading. Thanks all, EK.

_Part Seven: Ultimatum_

_"So, Sokka is your name, right? My favorite prisoner used to talk about you all the time. She was convinced that you were going to come rescue her, but of course you never came, and eventually she gave up on you."_

Sokka watched as the world crumbled around him.

Standing alone beside a well in a foreign land, struck dumb by the sudden crash of lightning, Sokka watched stupidly, without making any movements beside the staggered rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, as Zuko leapt to his feet. "She's here," the vengeful Fire Nation prince snarled.

"Who's here?" asked Ty Lee, voice quivering with fear.

"Azula," answered Zuko, not even bothering to comment on Ty Lee's obliviousness. He pointed down an adjourning street. "Come on Sokka. Let's go."

Sokka didn't move. Zuko grimaced. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for?" he shouted, shaking Sokka by the shoulders.

"What about me?"

Zuko turned to Ty Lee. "Help us out… or get out of the way. We wouldn't want a real casualty. Sokka!"

Sokka still didn't answer. Zuko groaned and resigned himself to facing Azula alone. "Ty Lee," he ordered. "Stay with him."

As he sprinted to the mouth of the street, eyes and ears open for Azula, or anyone really, Zuko felt his heart race with adrenaline and anticipation. This was it. He was finally going to face Azula. And, this time, he knew that one of them was not going to walk away unscathed. That was what he wanted, wasn't it: an ultimatum.

Unfortunately, Zuko had other things to worry about.

He stopped in his tracks as Katara came running out from the shelter of the awning of a building. Catching her by the wrists, Zuko looked down into her blue eyes and demanded, "What happened?"

Katara struggled for a moment and Zuko released her wrists. "I need to go back and help Toph! You come too. Hurry!"

"Not until you've told me what's happened. Then, I'd be glad to help you."

Sokka, still dumbstruck, and Ty Lee watched from a distance. Katara glanced briefly at them, breathing a short sigh of relief upon seeing her brother unharmed, and then answered Zuko. "Toph and I left Aang to find you and Sokka. We left Aang with Appa in the clearing, and went to the old palace, hoping that you two were there. You weren't. Azula was, waiting with the Dai Li. We ran… and they chased us here. I need to go back!"

"Calm down Katara. How many are there? I need to know so that we can decide to stay and fight or run."

"Three Dai Li. And Azula herself."

Glancing back at Sokka and judging him useless for the time being, Zuko started walking to the battle scene. "Keep the Dai Li off my back."

"And what about you? What will you do?" Katara ran to catch up with him.

"Leave Azula to me."

"Listen Zuko," her hand caught his sleeve. "I need to tell you something."

"There's time for that later."

"There may not be. Zuko, I've had time to think about what you said, and I-"

"Don't." He broke from her grip and started running.

She said something anyway, but Zuko was too busy racing towards his destiny to stop and listen.

Suki, despite all appearances, was very much awake and had been so for several minutes. Draped under the stranger's cloak (who hand turned out to be none other than the young man who broke Mai's heart), she squeezed her blue-grey eyes shut and, holding her breath, told herself that this wasn't happening. Unfortunately, the second crash of lightning told her otherwise.

Suki listened patiently as Zuko argued with Ty Lee. She knew that both Sokka and Ty Lee had arrived, but she refused to greet them in any way. But, now that it had been made clear that Azula was attacking and at a rapid rate, she sat up and leapt to her feet, casting the cloak aside. She quickly took in the situation: Zuko had taken off, presumably to fight Azula, leaving this Katara behind, Ty Lee stood nervously, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and Sokka still stood, staring into space. She started to run after Zuko, so that he wouldn't have to fight Azula alone, but a hand reached out and caught her arm, holding her back: Sokka.

"I'm not about to lose you again."

Biting back a sharp reply about how he had seemed completely of no use only a few minutes before, Suki said, "Sokka, let go of me. I can handle myself."

"I'm not about to let you go running off to get yourself killed."

Suki shook her head. In her own mind this conversation could be seen as laughable. But the look in Sokka's eyes told her otherwise. She looked down at her pale hands. In truth, she had not idea of what she could do by way of fighting. But she was determined to do all that she could. She looked back up at Sokka. "I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to die."

"Azula's there, waiting for you. Suki, if she sees you, she'll-"

"I know what she'll do! She'll kill me. I'm fully aware of that!" And it made her quiver with fear on the inside, but she didn't say that. She needed to be brave, for Sokka. In order to convince him that she was someone to be trusted. "I won't let her. You know me, Sokka, even if I don't entirely know myself. You know that I won't just lie down and bare my throat!"

"I'm not about to let her even have the chance!" Sokka stared her down. "You know _me _don't you Suki? You know that I'm not about to let you go!"

"I don't know you Sokka! Don't you get it? I'm-," her voice shook, "I'm not the same person you left behind. Whatever Azula did, she changed me. And I don't know if I can change back." She turned away. "So, take it or leave it Sokka. Just don't play these silly games where you believe me one moment and then doubt me the next. Just don't!"

Sokka looked away. "I believe you. For now."

"No!" Suki shouted. "Take it or leave it! One or the other! No more of these 'maybes' and 'sometimes' and 'if you do what I say's! I am half sick of shadows! Either you believe me or you don't!"

Ty Lee cried out. Katara gasped as Suki and Sokka looked up to see Zuko and Toph running towards them at a sprint. Because Azula and her Dai Li agents had brought the battle to them.

Immediately upon his arrival, Zuko pulled Katara away from Azula's consecutive attacks and, therefore, out of harm's way. Shoving her behind the well, he attempted to put himself between her and Azula. But it didn't matter. While Suki, Sokka, and Toph fought off the Dai Li to the best of their abilities, Azula's attention was all for Zuko.

Leaping nimbly over Zuko as he settled into a protective stance in front of Katara, Azula perched on a second-story porch, leaning casually against a wooden support. "Zu-zu," she said calmly, almost casually, "it's such a pity that I didn't kill you when last I had the chance. It's not a mistake that I'm about to make again!"

As Azula sprung from her lofty perch the way a hawk prepares to descend on a mouse, Zuko yanked Katara away from the onslaught of fire. Together, they raced across to the cover of the porch Azula had just recently vacated. Ducking down behind a hanging tapestry draped over the railing above, Zuko pulled Katara down into a crouch behind him. Peering under the hem of the hanging tapestry, he clasped Katara's trembling hand and pushed her up against the wooden wall, kicking the nearby door open. While Azula still could not see them well enough to attack, he tried to push the waterbender into the house, whispering urgently, "Grab the others and head for the beach. Do your best to signal Aang and Appa somehow and get out of here."

Katara resisted being shoved inside, out of danger (or so Zuko thought), and instead clung to the front of his shirt. "What about you?"

"It's my destiny. Can't I do what I like with it?"

"But-"

"Stop clinging to me Katara. I'm seventeen; older than you. Cut out the 'mother' card!"

"Zuko-"

"Stop! Why can't you go play with Aang or something?"

Katara paled, and looked away. Zuko regretted his words almost immediately. "I mean- Katara- That's not what I meant-"

"So, this is the reason Mai was so heartbroken!"

Zuko froze. Azula's malicious voice began to get louder as she came closer to their hiding place behind the flimsy tapestry. Blue flames began to eat up the material, revealing Zuko as he pulled Katara behind him again, ready to protect her. Katara could see Azula's smirking face as the waterbender peered over Zuko's shoulder and Katara knew that Azula could see her too. Azula's smirk broadened until it was a sick grin. Katara shuddered. She looked at Zuko's tense shoulders as he stood in front of her and swallowed nervously.

"Heartbroken, Zuko. Nothing less. And you and your Water Tribe brat are obviously the cause of her heartbreak!" Azula sighed as though she were bored. "I wondered why she wanted to leave. You drove her off the island, didn't you know?" She paused. "No, I don't think you didn't. I don't think you bothered to know. You're just like that, Zuko, don't you know? So proud, so fearless, so detached, you'd think nothing mattered to you anymore!"

Katara bit her lip in worry when Zuko didn't make any movement, as though he'd lost control of his senses. His frozen stance reminded her of an animal who believes that the predator cannot see him if he stands still enough. But she needed Zuko to move, to fight. To do something! So she grabbed his shoulders from behind and did her best to shake him into awareness. "Zuko, don't listen to her! She's trying to distract you, trying to make you emotional so that she can gain the upper hand!"

"Because of you, she couldn't bear another moment. She's running away from you. You've sucked all of the life from her, haven't you? I remember the distant, smothered torture in her eyes, the way she couldn't stand up quite as straight as she had been able to before. I remember the way she shuddered when I said your name, as if the very reminder of you was painful. And I thought I'd seen all kinds of misery. But now I realize that Mai is trapped in a very… special circle of despair.

"'Why?' I asked myself, 'Why?'" Azula fixed her golden eyes on Katara's anxious blue ones. "Well now, we _all _know why."

Katara buried her face into Zuko's stiff shoulder. "Zuko," she tried not to sob. "Just- do something." Once again, she checked her water sack. Nothing.

"How does that make you feel?" Azula adopted a condescending tone. "Guilty? Proud? Furious?"

Katara felt Zuko begin to take some deeper, angrier breaths. "Zuko please!"

"No." Azula shook her head with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "I don't think you feel at all."

Too late. Zuko pushed Katara away and lost the control that he had worked so hard to achieve. He let go of his anger, of his rage and, with a growl at the back of throat, he lashed out with a blaze of scarlet flames in all directions.

Katara fell away when Zuko pushed her. Her loose hair flew up behind her in a dark wave as she fell, landing hard on the wooden porch. As Zuko's fire tore through the air around him, some landing to blaze on the edges of the roof, some on the wooden railing, they caught and began to eat fervently at the wood; the flames caught Katara's hair, singing the ends. The flames gathered around her fallen form, beginning to lick at her elbows and ankles. Zuko tore out from under the awning, running at a sprint towards Azula, already preparing a second attack, without a single glance back at the girl he'd left behind.

Katara began to rise, supporting herself on her elbows. But, as soon as she managed to stagger to her feet, her foot went through the frail wood of the porch floor. She fell again and looked up at the awning above her only to watch as the wood and shingle began to fall around her. She screamed for Zuko, but her cry for help fell on deaf ears. Desperately trying to free herself, Katara found herself buried under shingle and charred wood and then falling into darkness.

As she glanced at Katara's buried form, Azula shrugged, leaping nimbly just out of reach of Zuko's attacks. She leaned up against the railing of the house opposite the one that slowly burned to the ground and cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose she didn't mean all that much to you after all."

As Azula stormed into the square, Suki turned to Sokka and said, "Too late."

Sokka opened his mouth to reply, but Toph cut him off with a "I need a little help over here! I hate to break up such a romantic moment, but these Dai Li aren't about to fight themselves, you know!"

Sokka nodded and said, "We'll be there."

As they ran to Toph, Suki looked around for Ty Lee. "Coward," she muttered.

Hearing her, Sokka attempted a smile and said, "I never did think she was much of a fighter." He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he say Zuko spring from some rubble and fiercely attack Azula. "Zuko's got Azula under control, but where is- Katara!"

Suki turned around to see Sokka as he raced against time to the collapsing building, trying to save his sister. Suki followed, as fast as she could, but it was too late. Sokka knelt beside the rubble that covered his sister, trying to uncover as much as he could by himself while the building blazed behind him. Suki rushed to his side, forgetting her earlier anger with him. To her, right now Sokka was just someone who needed help.

She knelt by his side and tried to help him. Sokka, having already uncovered most of the smaller rubble, attempted to lift a wooden beam that pinned Katara to the floor. Struggling to lift the beam alone, his eyes met Suki's and silently asked for help. Wordlessly, she picked up the other end of the beam and, together, they lifted it up and away. Sokka cradled his sister in his arms. Suki knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Whispering in his ear, she said, "Sokka, it's alright. She's breathing, she has a strong pulse. She may not have the same long hair, but she's alive. She'll be alright. But this building is going to collapse on all of us if we don't move fast and we need to help… Toph." She smiled as she remembered the Earthbender's name, tears in her blue-grey eyes.

For a moment, Suki thought that Sokka hadn't heard her. But then he nodded and gathered Katara up in his arms. Sokka and Suki ran across the square.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Azula were locked in a battle where it seemed that neither of them could gain the upper hand. Azula had lost her usual calm precision much in the way Zuko had lost his control and both were becoming sloppy, setting fire to more houses. Civilians began to pour into the streets. Zuko shouted, "Why don't we stop this before someone gets hurt!"

In response, Azula sent another flurry of blue flame his way and bared her teeth when he evaded her attack. Deciding to pursue another tactic, she laughed maniacally, "Stop before someone gets hurt?" Still laughing, she pointed. Zuko glanced in that direction, amber eyes widening with shock when he saw Katara's body lying limp in Sokka's arms. His eyes met Suki's and they shared a moment of mutual understanding, but Suki turned away. Presuming the worst, Zuko attempted to run to Katara's side, but Azula blocked his path with blue fire, creating a dangerous curtain that divided the two of them from the others. Zuko turned back to Azula with rage in his eyes. "It's your fault! You did this!"

Azula shook her head slowly, satisfaction playing out on her cool features. "No Zuko. You did."

He began to fight, but Azula leapt away, tantalizingly just out of reach. "You set the building on fire. You singed her hair. You pushed her away. You left her as the building began to collapse! If she is dead, well then, how many causalities are you going to leave in your wake?"

Zuko hurled another blast at her. The fight went on.

Across the curtain of fire, Sokka attempted to engage in a fist fight with one of the three Dai Li agents. Without a sword, machete, or even a boomerang, Sokka had to admit to himself that he was proving to be pretty useless. Toph juggled two Dai Li while Zuko fought Azula off. Even Suki managed to handle anyone who got too close to Katara. Fire Nation soldiers were pouring into the square and civilians were staring. They were creating a spectacle.

"Sokka!" Suki shouted as she threw a cobblestone at an attacking soldier's head. "We need to get out of here! We can't hold out for much longer, and someone else might get hurt!"

_And I don't want that someone to be you_, Sokka thought. He looked around. "They're blocking off the exits!" Fighting his way to her side, he touched her face gently and said, "I don't think we're going to get out of this alive."

Suki attempted a smile, pulling away only to beat back a soldier with a random stick. "What are you talking about? You're Sokka, the brilliant tactician!"

"I'm beginning to believe that you shouldn't have come for you."

Suki stopped fighting. "What lie has Azula fed you?" she whispered, looking at him.

"You'd have been safe. Oblivious. Living the life of a pampered Fire Nation lady."

"Pampered Fire Nation brat is more like it!" She ran to his side and took up his hands. "Don't regret it," she whispered. "Don't regret any of what you did."

"But-"

"Don't." Quickly, she kissed him. As she pulled away, she smiled and said, "You talk too much."

She pulled away once again and returned to the fight. Sokka stared at her for a moment and then shook his head, fighting once more, this time with more vigor. "No way out," he muttered. "Who cares?"

A roar answered him. A flying bison landed in the middle of the battle. A livid Aang leapt off Appa and yelled, "Everybody in!"

Toph pushed the two Dai Li into a building and rushed to Appa's side. Sokka picked Katara back up into his arms and he and Suki rushed to Toph who then bended a platform up to the saddle. Aang followed and prepared to take off, but Suki shouted, "Zuko!"

Zuko looked up from his battle with Azula to watch as Aang shouted "Yip yip" anyway. Appa began to take off. Running as fast as he could away from Azula, Zuko ran up the stairs of a porch and leapt across a roof. Appa took flight and Zuko jumped nimbly into the saddle, landing next to Katara as she lay on the floor. Moving as far away from Aang as possible, Zuko slid between Sokka and Suki. As he buried his scarred face in his hands, Suki placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Aang looked at each of them. "What happened?"

No one answered.


End file.
